The Weekly Portion: Obama's AIPAC speech - a pleasant surprise

From my point of view, last week's most meaningful event was my participation in the AIPAC conference which took place in Washington. AIPAC is the biggest and most significant pro-Israel organization that exists in the United States. It acts as a lobby to the Senate and Congress and it succeeds, almost always, in passing legislation that is favorable to Israel.

It is no wonder then, that half of the Senate and half of Congress make an appearance at the annual conference, which represents an impressive show of friendship and support for Israel. For the two and a half days of the duration of the conference, I spoke six times: once at the opening ceremony attended by over 6,000 representatives and participants and five more times in sessions related to Israel's security and its internal affairs.

The main event at the conference was Senator Barack Obama's speech. The night beforehand, Obama succeeded in securing the numbers necessary to become the Democratic nominee, placing him a step closer to the White House. According to the polls, he has a very good chance of becoming the next President of the United States.

In Israel, his nomination aroused great suspicions. These suspicions derived from Obama's commitment to open negotiations, immediately after his election, with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in an attempt to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue.

From our point of view, this is an unnecessary and dangerous move. Unnecessary, since the US - despised by Ahmadinejad and his regime - does not possess the power to change the nature of the regime nor its strategic goals with dialogue. Dangerous, since it is a prolonged process in which the Iranians will have more time to delay the efforts for sanctions against them and in the meantime can continue to produce enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. I voiced these concerns in a conversation with one of Obama's closest advisors.

On Wednesday morning, Obama spoke at the AIPAC conference. His speech was a pleasant surprise even if he did not go back on his word to apply the dialogue option in dealing with Iran. However, he added a number of important clarifications:

- He has no naive illusions regarding the nature of the Iranian regime

- He would not allocate much time to the process since he recognizes the urgency of the matter

- A diplomatic process would justify additional sanctions and other steps if it were to fail

- He believes that an unsuccessful diplomatic process will soften China and Russia's positions on sanctions and military processes.

- He would prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and stresses that a "military option remains on the table"

The electoral system in the US and the shaping process of a new government allows for a situation in which no presidential initiatives are presented between the end of the summer and the end of fall - 8 months approximately. This is a critical time to reach decisions regarding the prevention of a nuclear Iran. Obama's important speech alleviated some of our fears but did not completely allay them.

While the crowd loudly applauded Obama during his speech, I stepped out of the hall and hurried to the airport to make my flight home. Essentially, in order to prevent the Iranians from obtaining a nuclear weapon, the necessary steps must be taken here in Israel. If we are not prepared to do what is necessary ourselves, even the most agreeable and friendliest of presidents will not be able to save us.