Zarelli plans conference on U.S.-Israeli relations
Saturday, May 12, 2007 11:18 PM PDT
By Don Jenkins, columnist
Printable version
E-mail this articleRepublican state Sen. Joe Zarelli of Ridgefield found something more controversial than sex education. Mideast politics.
During the legislative session, Zarelli flayed a bill to require public schools to abstain from abstinence-only sex education. That was contentious. But Zarelli kicked it up a notch with his post-session venture.
He and wife, Tani, organized a two-day "Convergence Conference" on Israeli and U.S. relations set for June 6-7 at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Critics of the conference plan sidewalk protests and will "attempt to reduce the attendance."
"I kind of suspected some controversy, but I didn't imagine the conference would get drawn into this kind of rhetoric," Zarelli said.
By far the best-known speaker will be former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will deliver (probably via teleconference) the keynote address on the topic, "America and Israel's War on Terror."
Other speakers include members of the right-of-center Likud Party, which Netanyahu leads and may regain power in the wake of Israel's military stumble in Lebanon.
Zarelli, who visited Israel in early January, said he has two goals for the conference: Promote ties with Israel and "enlighten" attendees about the countries' mutual security interests.
Speakers' topics include, "What are the Jewish and Christian communities in America to do?" "How can we support Israel?" and "Why is America at Risk?"
"We tend to forget the United States is a key focus of people who, quite frankly, want to kill Americans and Jews around the world." Zarelli said.
Those planning to protest depict the conference as an attempt to equate oppressing Palestinians with protecting Americans.
A post on the Portland-based Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights' Web site describes the featured speakers as "extreme right wing Likudists" and describes the Zarellis as "fundamentalist Christians."
An affiliated group, Voices for ME Justice, plans to "influence the opinions of attendees and the public" (in addition to discouraging attendance in the first place).
In response, Zarelli points to polls that show the Likud Party winning if Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were to resign and elections are held to form a new government. That makes Likud and Netanyahu "pretty mainstream" and hardly on the extreme edge of Israel's politics, Zarelli said.
Also, he said the conference is "not driven by religion." Said Zarelli: "This is totally a secular effort in the sense the situation warrants a discussion in the political mainstream."
As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "we're not focused on getting into that debate," he said. "It's not about, how do you solve the problem in the Middle East? It's about, how we get to know Israel?"
In connection with planning the conference, Tani Zarelli registered Convergence as a nonprofit group. After the conference, the group will continue promoting ties between the United States and Israel, Joe Zarelli said.
The group does not signal that Zarelli will exchange domestic politics for overseas interests, he said. "I intend to run for re-election (in 2008). That's my focus."
More information about the conference, including how to register and costs, is available at www.convergencenw.org. The Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights' Web site is www.auphr.org.
Political Dispatch appears on Sundays. Don Jenkins can be reached at 360-577-2535 or don.jenkins@tdn.com.
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