Nearly 1,000 activists lobbied for Israel in Washington.
The NORPAC event May 21 drew activists from 10 states for the New Jersey-based political action committee.
A host of lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)., Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), and U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), addressed the group before and after their lobbying sessions at the Capitol.
Lobbying points included backing President Bush’s proposed increase in defense aid for Israel from $2.4 billion to $2.55 billion, even if the overall budget process is deadlocked; and soliciting backing for tough Iran sanctions legislation.
In talking points, lobbyists also expressed opposition to assistance for the Palestinian Authority, although such support has Bush’s backing and is popular in Congress now that Israel is negotiating peace terms with the relatively moderate government of President Mahmoud Abbas.
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