Leading up to Lee Rosenberg’s inaugural speech as president of AIPAC, the conference just ran his video bio.
It included the requisite "I found Israel through AIPAC" segment. It depicted him as knowing next to nothing about the state and even his faith until his first AIPAC trip.
But get this graf from the Rosenberg profile in the Chicago Tribune I pointed out earlier:
Rosenberg’s influence also is built on his family’s legacy in Chicago and a network of friends, who have partnered with him in business and on Israeli causes. His father, Lester, known as "Big Rosy," led a campaign that raised a record $67 million for the Jewish United Fund in 2001 and chaired the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago from 2002 to 2004. He has visited Israel more than 50 times.
More than a few of those 50 times must have been with "Little Rosy."
Question: Why does AIPAC need this Saul-to-Paul apocrypha? It’s powerful, yes, but isn’t it equally powerful when someone who has an established record of deep commitment speaks up for the lobby?
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
