How late is it?

Imagine a room the size of two football fields, filled with 7,000 pro-Israel activists and many of the world’s most prominent political figures. Last month, 52 of us from Kansas City joined that vast crowd at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s 2009 Policy Conference in Washington.

We were moved by speeches from Rabbi Daniel Gordis, Jerusalem Post editor David Horovitz and Israel’s newly appointed Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren.  We heard Israel’s President Shimon Peres recount the shared moral values and history that bind the United States and Israel, and we heard of his dreams for peace.  We 7,000 pro-Israel activists attended breakout sessions led by world-class policy makers, foreign-affairs experts and academics. We got an insider’s view of the existential threats Israel now faces.

The last night of Policy Conference, we were joined at a great banquet by more than half the members of Congress and by ambassadors and dignitaries from  around the world.  After we stood to sing the national anthem, and then “Hatikvah,” we were addressed by the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (via satellite), Sens. Richard Durbin and John Kyl, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Minority Whip Eric Cantor. The next morning we heard from Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. John Kerry.
We saw both Democrats and Republicans who are united in their commitment to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, and who are determined to counter the strategic threats that endanger both Israel and America today. We learned about decades-long relationships between lawmakers and pro-Israel activists.  And we realized again that AIPAC is central to the one relationship in the world that is crucial to the survival of the state of Israel.

Perhaps the most powerful speech at Policy Conference was delivered by Rep. Cantor of Virginia, the highest ranking Jewish member of Congress.  Drawing parallels between Hitler’s efforts to destroy the Jewish people and Iran’s threats to destroy the Jewish state, Congressman Cantor posed this chilling question:  When did it become too late to prevent the murder of 6 million Jews? Was it 1933 when the world acquiesced in Hilter’s “democratic” election to become Chancellor of Germany?  Was it 1936 when Hitler crossed the Rhine and the world did nothing?  Was it 1938 when Czechoslovakia was sacrificed for “peace in our time”?

Rep. Cantor stated that today a new Hitler is promising to destroy the Jewish people and the state of Israel. “How late is it,” he asked, “when Mr. Ahmadinejad dreams of finishing Hitler’s work and killing all the world’s Jews?  Each day that passes brings him closer to possession of a nuclear bomb.  When we dally and fret and wring our hands, but fail to do anything that will really stop him, how late are we then?”

A nuclear-armed Iran is not just a Jewish or Israeli issue, but also a strategic nightmare for America. Rep. Cantor noted that “Israel’s security is synonymous with our own. The people who point guns at her with murder in their eyes will next turn on us.  Her enemies are our enemies, and polite silence amounts to complicity in our own demise.”

Those of us who work with AIPAC refuse to be silent. On the final day of Policy Conference, we met with every U.S. Senator and nearly every member of the House of Representatives. We asked that they support new economic sanctions that would cripple Iran’s economy if it continues its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons. We asked that our congressmen support the 2009 Foreign Aid Appropriations Bill, which provides almost $3 billion dollars in military assistance to Israel. We asked that Israel not be forced into a peace settlement that threatens her security.

These are ominous times for Israel and for the Jewish people, and for each one of us.  We must act now to stop a nuclear-armed Iran. We must act now to ensure that Israel will be there for our children.  We must act now to make our voices heard.  And the best way to be heard is to join AIPAC.

We must show the world that this time we will not be silent; this time, we will act before it is too late.

Dr. Robert Glueck, a local cardiologist, is a longtime supporter of AIPAC. For more information about (AIPAC,  contact Melody Mokhtarian at (312) 253-8986 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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