National Summit examines tightly held beliefs about Israel on March 7
Mar 04, 2014, 09:00 ET
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The March 7 National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel "Special Relationship" at the National Press Club ballroom will present the following panel presentations:
| 1. How does the Israel lobby influence Congress? 9:00 AM |
| Paul Findley - Should the executive outmaneuver Congress to save Palestine and Israel? |
| Janet McMahon - The Israel lobby network and coordinated PACs that finance U.S. elections. |
| Cynthia McKinney - In the Israel lobby's cross-hairs. |
| Delinda Hanley - U.S. aid to Israel in numbers. |
| 2. Does Israel and its lobby exercise too much influence on U.S. decisions to wage war in the Middle East? 10:15 AM |
| Stephen Sniegoski - Neoconservatives and the Iraq War. |
| Karen Kwiatkowski - Inside the Pentagon's "Office of Special Plans." |
| Gareth Porter - The "manufactured crisis" and drive for U.S. / Israel military actions against Iran. |
| Brigadier General (ret) James J. David - How does U.S. military aid to Israel impact relations with other U.S. allies? |
| 3. Does the "special relationship" transcend rule of law? 11:15 AM |
| Grant F. Smith - A brief history of unprosecuted Israeli foreign agent, smuggling and espionage cases. |
| Ernie Gallo - The U.S.S Liberty: what really happened? What did not? |
| Mark Perry - Mossad poses as CIA? No-holds-barred national security reporting in the current environment. |
| M.E. "Spike" Bowman - The Jonathan Pollard Affair: what does it mean and what does it not mean? |
| 4. History: How did the "special relationship" come to be? 12:45 PM |
| Stephen Walt - The "special relationship" and what has changed since publication of "The Israel Lobby" book |
| Geoffrey Wawro- Key findings from the book "Quicksand" and what happens to historians who revise history. |
| John Quigley - 1967, international law and cost of U.S. support for the occupation. |
| Alison Weir - Findings from the new book "Against Our Better Judgment" |
| 5. Has the lobby captured political parties and news media? 2:15 PM |
| Jeff Blankfort - Are there Israel lobby gatekeepers and damage control squads on the Left? |
| Allen Brownfeld - The ACJ and battles over Zionism inside Jewish social welfare organizations. |
| Justin Raimondo - Has the Israel lobby captured the Right? |
| Scott McConnell - Did Neoconservatives take over GOP foreign policy? |
| Philip Weiss - What is changing in "permissible" mainstream public debate—and what is not? |
| 6. Is Israel really a U.S. ally? 3:45 PM |
| Michael Scheuer - Does U.S. support for Israel expose America to blowback? |
| Paul Pillar - Are threats to Israel's security inflated to justify occupation and U.S. support? |
| Ray McGovern - Does Israel act like a U.S. ally? |
| Philip Giraldi - Is Israel a U.S. ally? |
Speaker biographies are available at http://www.NATSummit.org/speakers.htm Online registration for the program and lunch at http://NATSummit.org closes March 6. Same-day registration is available on a limited first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8AM on the 13th floor of the National Press Club.
National Summit organizers are the Council for the National Interest Foundation, If Americans Knew, Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, and the American Educational Trust, publisher of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.
SOURCE Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy