WASHINGTON – Last month, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC] announced that it will not hold its annual policy conference in 2022, citing concerns over COVID.
“We hoped that by now we would have had greater certainty, more clarity, and the definitive answers needed to determine whether we can safely host a Policy Conference in Washington, DC in 2022,” AIPAC president Betsy Korn wrote to AIPAC members.
This will be the second year in a row the pro-Israel group has canceled its annual policy conference. Last May, as the US was in the middle of the first wave of the pandemic, the organization announced it would cancel the 2021 conference, traditionally held in March. According to the AIPAC source familiar with the discussion, the decision was made because it was “not practical to plan the event a few months in advance as the Delta variant is spreading.”
Last week, JTA reported that The Jewish Federations of North America canceled the in-person portion of its signature annual event, the General Assembly, citing the coronavirus. The event will instead take place in an online setting.
And next month, when the UN General Assembly will take place in New York, the American Jewish Committee will hold its traditional “diplomatic marathon,” a series of some 80 meetings with foreign leaders, in a “hybrid” way: some will take place in person, but most of the conversation will remain virtual.
As the Delta variant is spreading across the globe, many organizations are scaling back their in-person events to avoid a possible future restriction. How has it affected the Jewish organizations’ advocacy efforts?
Jason Isaacson is the Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer for the American Jewish Committee (AJC). He told The Jerusalem Post that the organization adapted very early on to the online environment. ”We’ve had hundreds, literally hundreds of webinars, public broadcasts, but also for various insiders groups. We’ve ramped up significantly our social media presence over the course of the pandemic. We have conducted periodic meetings with senior government officials in the US and worldwide.”
“We have had occasional in-person meetings on a fairly regular basis, very carefully, sometimes outdoors, sometimes socially distant in embassies or in the agency office,” he continued. “But we’ve been extremely careful and I would say that the Delta variantmakes us even more careful.”
“We have mastered the technology necessary to make sure that our advocacy stays on track. And I would say, in fact, that it has reached more people,” said Isaacson. “There’s been no falloff in the number of contacts. It’s just been done in a different way. And we’re all looking forward to being able to get back to in-person meetings. But we’re able to function this way. And we know that we’re not the only ones who are forced into the situation. I know of diplomats who have come to Washington to have meetings at the State Department and instead they are required to stay in their hotel rooms and communicate with people at the State Department virtually. So we’re all adapting in various ways with our own set of strict public health conditions.”
He went on to say that AJC is preparing for a hybrid program at next month’s UNGA. “It is my understanding that they are expecting recorded statements by heads of state and government officials, but also a certain number, a fairly small number, of leaders who will come to New York, with a small delegation allowed into the assembly hall.”
“So, we will arrange for a certain number of in-person meetings when that’s possible. But I expect that the bulk of our meetings will take place virtually as they did last year and will be prepared to go back in person when conditions permit.”
LAST MONDAY, JFNA formally announced that the organizations’ GA would take place virtually from October 3rd to October 5th. GA registrants received an email saying that the event “was to include both an in-person leadership gathering of 500 people and virtual offerings for as many people as were able to participate.”
“We’ve since consulted with a number of distinguished medical experts regarding the GA. Unfortunately, each has advised against holding an indoor, in-person event in October,” the letter reads. “Beyond the uncertainty of the next few months, their biggest concern is the rise of highly contagious COVID variants, coupled with a growing understanding (based on data from Israel) around the efficacy of the COVID vaccines after six months.”
“The health and safety of our participants is of the utmost importance to us, and we believe canceling the in-person component of the GA is the best and most prudent decision at this time,” the letter noted. “Anyone who completed and paid their registration for the in-person gathering will receive an email by the end of the week regarding full reimbursements and hotel room cancellations.”
“We planned to do it in a hybrid way, with 500 people in-person and everything else virtual,” a person familiar with the plans told the Post. “But a couple of weeks ago, as the Delta variant started picking up steam, we realized it wasn’t going to be possible. So, nowwe pivot to a fully virtual conference.”
“The program is going to also be different to accommodate the fact that it’s all virtual,” they added. “So it’s going to be a lot more consolidated. It made us look a little bit more at the virtual part and make sure it is engaging.” According to the source, one major challenge was how to plan weeks ahead, including all the logistical aspects of arranging a conference, without knowing if additional restrictions on gatherings would be in place.
“When we are talking to our health experts, the question is not only where [the virus] is at right now, but where is it going to be in another six or seven weeks? And the trends are not going in a good direction,” the source said.
SIMILARLY, AIPAC faced a similar challenge. The organization wrote in a letter to participants: “After considerable review, we feel strongly that signing contracts at a time of such continued uncertainty about the safety of the conference and our delegates would be an irresponsible use of the resources you entrust us to use wisely.”
AIPAC also announced last week that it would reschedule two congressional trips sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation. A House Republican freshman trip and a bipartisan trip of members of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security com
A person familiar with the organizations’ operations told the Post that AIPAC’s National Council has continued to meet virtually throughout the pandemic, “hosting hundreds of top AIPAC activists from across the country… and culminating with digital lobbying meetings with virtually every congressional office.”
“We have hosted virtual events with timely briefings and interaction with leading experts and top policymakers for AIPAC club members; members of Congress and their staffs,” the person noted. “These events have included extended seminars with members of Congress and key leaders and experts in Israel, giving them the opportunity to interact with Israeli leaders at a time when our Foundation could not sponsor trips to Israel.”
They went on to say that as a result of these activities, “many of our activists, who hadn’t been fully involved in the past, have now become more engaged through a wide array of virtual events.”
An AIPAC spokesperson told the Post the AIPAC members “have lobbied nearly every member of Congress in a digital format over the past year, and Congress has responded by passing robust pro-Israel legislation that is helping to strengthen and expand the US-Israel relationship.”