President Shimon Peres is to address American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) at 5:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. EST) Sunday, one of two dozen U.S. and Israeli politicians and analysts to speak at the three-day event where the Iranian nuclear threat is the media’s number one issue.
The pro-Israel lobby is to present President Peres with a life achievement award and a documentary film on his life after he delivers the opening speech at the conference.
The conference is receiving the most-ever media attention as Iran’s unsupervised nuclear program proceeds on a collision course with Israel and the Western world.
The star-studded speaker’s list includes President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Republican presidential nominee hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.
Congress members to address AIPAC are Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Senator Carl Levin, Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman and GOP Senator Johnny Isakson.
Speakers from media include CNN Contributor Paul Begala, Fox News Contributor Liz Cheney, former Jerusalem Post editor David Horovitz, Political Analyst for NBC News Mike Murphy, The Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, and Israel’s veteran Middle East commentator Ehud Yaari.
The conference is jam-packed with panels and discussions.
Subjects on the first day alone include:
– Alliances and Rifts in a Volatile Mideast;
– A Final Settlement: The Past and Future of Peace Agreements featuring former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk;
– Evolution and Development of the U.S.-Israeli relationship: 1947-2012;
– Home-Grown Terror: Islamic Radicalism in America; Town Hall Meeting -The End of the Peace Process?
– The Land of Israel: A Historical and Archaeological Perspective; and
– The Middle East in 2012: A Regional Overview; Town Hall Meeting – Undivided Capital: Jerusalem and the Peace Process.
AIPAC also will hold panel discussions on A Strategic Asset: The U.S.- Israel Military Alliance; Brotherly Behavior: The Arab States and the Palestinians;
Civil Society:The State of Human Rights in the Arab World; East-West Divide: Where Is Turkey Headed?;
Hamas and Fatah: Is Reconciliation a Possibility?; Iranian Infighting: Inside the Islamic Republic; Israeli Democracy: News and Views on Israeli Politics’ Middle East Media: Covering a Region in Turmoil.
Other topics include Peace Prospects: The Future of Israeli-Palestinian Relations; State of Humanity: How Israel Is Helping a World in Need; Street Sense: Understanding Palestinian Public Opinion; and The Struggle to Secure Israel on Campus: 1956-2016.
