The AIPAC lobbying group does a lot of good. Any group that lobbies governments on behalf of Israel's good gets our thumbs up.
That being said - I saw a few minutes of the recent conference which took place. I listened to three of the speakers. One was a devout Catholic who gave a whole drasha about loving our enemies. He neglected to mention that he firmly believes that everyone in that room is going to hell because they don't accept Jesus. He DID mention that he is close friends with "His Holiness" the Dalai Lama. He however neglected to explain how someone can be holy when according to his belief system such a person is a sinner who is also eternally damned. But I guess that this is the 21st century - so anything goes. All faiths are true.... Why should Jews, many of them who daven three times a day and seriously learn Torah on a daily basis, listen to this man when they can listen instead to people who represent their own belief system?? Some would say that listening to other people with whom we disagree expands one's horizons. Right - but we have to be very careful about that because hearing false opinions is poison to one's brain and soul [עי' רמב"ם הל' עבודה זרה ב ג]. And in this case, people's defenses are down because they assume that he believes what we believe and he is on our side. He is not [although he may be a really decent guy].
Another speaker was the Gentile mayor of New York City. He stressed about 17 times that he is a Liberal Progressive Democrat. But he knew how to say all the Jewish words, including "Shabbos" and "kippah". His value system is for the most part diametrically opposed to ours [which is what he was alluding to - but he still likes us...]. Progressives want to change traditional values - religious Jews wish to preserve them. Maybe his saving grace was that he affirmed that Israel has the right to exist [and I am saying that as a Progressive Liberal Democrat!!]. Shkoyach. Thanks for your thumbs up!!:-) He also proclaimed that if the Arabs get their own state then there will be peace in the region. The level of naivete is astounding. The Arabs publicly proclaim that they want to wipe the Jews off the face of the planet. After all of the territorial concession over the last 70 years Jews still live under constant threat. But if they just self govern, those refined, gentle people will allow the Jews to live in peace. AHHHHHHHH!! When idiocy meets stupidity.
Yet another person chosen to address the audience is the head of a left wing secular party in Israel. The platform of this party is that Shabbos should be a national day of rest in the traditional sense. On the other hand, it ALSO says that they support the right for all stores to be open on Shabbos and that there should be public transportation. Stiiiiraaaaaaa! They are also in favor of giving a stamp of approval to any two men who choose to have a sexual relationship and consider them married. The pasuk in the same Tanach that we use as the source of our right to live in Israel, also says "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." But that doesn't faze them. And their leader is chosen to address this crowd of Jews, many of whom actually accept the Torah as binding.
Sad and unfortunate.
