A Los Angeles resident who attended last weekend’s American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. This, after two New York attendees were diagnosed with the virus last week. The pro-Israel lobbying conference drew 18,000 attendees to Washington D.C.
There are now 14 reported cases in Los Angeles county, reports NBC Los Angeles.
“Public Health is identifying persons who may have had close personal contact with this individual, including any friends, family members or health care professionals, to assess and monitor them for signs and symptoms of illness has begun. All confirmed cases are isolated and close contacts are quarantined for 14 days from last exposure,” the department said in their statement. “There are no known public exposure locations related to this case.”
Although the patient recently returned from the AIPAC conference, the department did not mention whether the individual contracted coronavirus at AIPAC or had it before attending the conference.
Other AIPAC attendees have not been instructed to go into quarantine after returning home from the conference.
In a March 7 email from AIPAC, attendees received a message from the DC Department of Health that said “Based on our investigation thus far, in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDH), there is no identified risk to conference attendees at this time. All attendees and members of the public are urged to follow the well-established prevention tips like staying home if sick and calling ahead to a health provider if experiencing symptoms. We will work with AIPAC leadership to keep all attendees informed of any new developments.”
The Health Department also told attendees, that the two cases present at AIPAC were asymptomatic and have no identifiable risk for anyone exposed to them.
The current coronavirus cases include eight people who traveled to Italy, two employees who were screening passengers for the virus at Los Angeles International Airport, two relatives of someone outside the country who has the virus, one traveler of Wuhan, China, and now three AIPAC attendees.
Bernie Sanders was the bogeyman at the AIPAC conference earlier this week for skipping the event, which he called a platform for bigotry. Multiple speakers called out Sanders by name and referred to him as the leader in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“[Y]ou have Bernie Sanders, who calls people who support this movement bigots and is critical!” GOP strategist Alice Stewart said.
And this from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, one of those who cited Sanders’ frontrunning status: “Not only did Senator Sanders skip the conference, he bashed it publicly. He said you all provide a platform for bigotry. And he called Israel’s democratically elected prime minister a ‘reactionary racist.’”
With the moderate former VP now heading the pack, the anxiety of the AIPAC crowd (the center-right, firmly pro-Israel demographic) all goes away, right? Not quite. Despite GOP eagerness to make Sanders the face of the Democratic Party’s Israel policy, Republicans at the conference also broke out anti-Biden talking points.
“Joe Biden doesn’t get a pass either,” Stewart quickly added after having predicted a Trump-Sanders matchup. “He doesn’t have a tremendous record when it comes to this issue.”
“I know the former vice president addressed you by video, though not in person,” chided McConnell, forgetting or ignoring that all but one of the 2012 Republican candidates delivered their addresses by video for the same reason as Biden: They were campaigning on Super Tuesday.
So what does the Jewish campaign look like if Biden is the nominee?
The Obama factor
In AIPAC land, Obama is not popular. (Although, notably, AIPAC CEO Howard Kohr in his opening speech counted Obama among the presidents who “understood that America’s commitment to Israel’s safety must be consistent. It must be unequivocal. And it must be dependable.”)
The likelihood, however, is that invoking Obama’s Israel record won’t resonate with most Jewish Democrats or hurt Biden much within the party: Obama remained overwhelmingly popular with Jewish voters, the vast majority of whom function outside the AIPAC bubble.
In addition, within the AIPAC world, Biden is seen as the most Israel-friendly member of Obama’s administration. He was Israel’s go-to assuager of frayed nerves whenever things got tense between Jerusalem and Washington, which happened frequently during that tenure.
Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador, in a scathing critique of the Obama administration, once credited Biden for telling him “we must have no daylight between us.”
“This reaffirmation of our alliance’s central pillar heartened me,” Oren wrote.
Uncle Joe at AIPAC: Tough love and applause
It’s a balance Biden handily navigated in his video speech to AIPAC, which drew repeated applause.
“Palestinians need to eradicate incitement on the West Bank — eradicate it. They need to end the rocket attacks from Gaza — stop it,” he said. “They need to accept once and for all the reality and the right of a secure democratic and Jewish state of Israel in the Middle East.
“And Israel I think has to stop the threats of annexation and settlement activity like the recent announcement to build thousands of settlements in E1,” he continued, referring to a patch of land between Jerusalem’s eastern border and the settlement of Maale Adumim that the Palestinians say is critical to contiguity in any future state. “That’s going to choke off any hope for peace, and to be frank those moves are taking Israel further from its democratic values.”
There were no boos, and Biden’s reference to the two-state outcome was applauded. Biden had effectively undercut Sanders’ implied argument that a critique of Israeli policies would not play at AIPAC.
Vice President Joe Biden visit to Israel March 2016 Meet with PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Biden’s Mishpocha
Those endless references to Donald Trump’s Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner meant to establish the president’s Jewish cred? Biden multiplies it by three: All of his adult children have married Jews. He has boasted about the piles of yarmulkes he possesses.
“I’m probably one of the few Christian members of the Congress who can say the motzi,” he said in 2011 at Detroit’s Yeshiva Beth Yehuda anniversary dinner. “I’ve attended more Jewish dinners than some of you have. I’ve raised more money from AIPAC than some of you have. I have spent more money raising money for the Federation than some of you have. You think I’m kidding, don’t you. I’m not.”
California prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against the gunman who allegedly opened fire on the Chabad of Poway synagogue, leaving one congregant dead.
Prosecutors from the San Diego County district attorney’s office said during a court hearing Thursday that they will ask for the death sentence against John Earnest, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The request comes even though California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order last year placing a moratorium on executions.
Earnest, 20, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the 2019 attack. The murder charge is classified as a hate crime, making Earnest eligible for the death penalty. Earnest told a 911 operator right after the attack that he did it to save white people from Jews.
The attack killed one congregant, Lori Gilbert-Kaye, and left three people wounded, including the now-retired rabbi of the Poway Chabad, who was shot in both hands and lost his index finger.
Hachette Book Group announced it will not publish Woody Allen’s memoir after its employees staged a walkout in protest of the company’s deal with the acclaimed filmmaker.
Hachette announced the decision to cancel the publication of “Apropos of Nothing” on Friday. The book had been scheduled for release next month. Employees of the company staged a walkout at the company’s Manhattan office on Thursday.
“Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG,” the publisher said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
The tug-of-war over the memoir is related to a 1992 claim of sexual abuse by Allen’s daughter, Dylan Farrow, that resurfaced as the #MeToo movement gained steam. Allen has denied the allegations.
Dylan Farrow tweeted about HBG’s decision to no longer publish Allen’s memoir, writing “I’m in awe and so very grateful.”
Last year, Netflix canceled a multi-movie deal with Allen and some of his former stars have distanced themselves from him.
