[chanting] 88 he has taken charge of a growing threat with its initiative. Governors united against media. This is a bipartisan collective of donors from all 50 states. These governors are making a powerful proactive statement that they reject the Global Movement to boycott, divest from and sanction israel. And they go further, reaffirming that israel remains a vital us ally in economic partner. In our state we said we will not use taxpayer funds to do business with any company that discriminates on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national origin. And make no mistake, that is exactly what the movement does. [applause] bds mixes two state solution more difficult by seeking to demonize, delegitimize and isolate israel, a beacon of democracy in the middle east and the only jewish state and today ajc salutes these governors in the pages of the wall street journal for taking this important stance. This is an honor roll of teachers who believe the medias movement is incompatible with the values of our state and our country. And who see israel as a champion of freedom. [applause] im back. I hope you get a chance to, this is really a remarkable sheet that you saw in this video. Under our leadership, 50 governors, republicans and democrats alike joined ajcs governors united against campaigns. [applause] together they made a powerful statement. First, that the goals of the bds movement are antithetical to their values and the values of their respective states and second, they reaffirm their support for israel asan ally , a vital us ally and economic partner and a champion of freedom. I hope youve all had a chance to look at the wall street journal today which carries a fullpage ad naming all the governors who participated as well as the mayor of the district of columbia. And this is a reminder that bds has been rejected coast to coast. Ajc, thank you. Ajc continues to work with local state and federal legislators and tomorrow one of our key advocacy items on the hill will be support for combating aids act of 2017 which will protect states that pass antibds legislations. Now one of the cosponsors of this act is here with us this afternoon. A staunch supporter of the us israel relationship, a committed jewish leader, and a longtime personal friend of mine, im talking of course about us state minority leader editor chuck schumer. Chuck has been at the forefront of about every effort to strengthen and deepen the relationship between washington and jerusalem. He has also been a strong voice in expressing concern about iran as a threat to israel and like ajc, chose to oppose the jcp la in 2015. In doing so, chuck acted out of principle against the wishes of his president and any of his party. We admire his courage then, we admire his courage now. Most of you see chuck on the tv shows or the front page of newspapers and he likes being there. But i want to point out theres another part. He is committed to his constituency. This is a man whose not forgotten his roots. He returns to new york every weekend and over the course of the year will visit all 62 counties because he remembers that these are the constituents that put him in office. Ill give you a personal story. A number of years ago im walking across the park and for those who dont know it, its a fairly wide street and a car comes human across and stops to me and in the back window goes down, chuck and he says john. This is the best liverwurst sandwich ive ever had and he hands me half a sandwich and then the car drives off and im like in the middle of the intersection with his liverwurst sandwich. So i can tell you that hes not only somebody who goes to battle for his constituents, he also will give them the food from his mouth. Now, notwithstanding all these positive comments im supposed to remind you ajc is profusely nonpartisan. We do not support candidates rather policies and priorities. Now, since i am told the most dangerous place in dc is between chuck and the microphone, in an act of selfpreservation is now my pleasure to welcome to the stage the Us Senate Minority leader, senator chuck schumer. [applause] thank you everybody. Thank you very much. Thank john for that great introduction, john and sean have been friends of iris in mind for decades. Ive looked to him for advice in international affairs, issues related to israel and i know hes doing a great job over the last year as president of ajc. Youre lucky to have jonathan tell. Another good friend of mine, Stanley Bergman was your previous, johns predecessor area area flight for is now the board chair of the chair of the board of governors, david harris is amazing and has done this great job for decades. Thank them all and Milton Cooper is active through marriage, would have been nice if i was a director standin but no such luck and i want to praise him as well. Now, if you know i always like to start off by telling a story and this one, some of the new yorkers have heard it but most of you have not allowed a story. Its about, it goes under the category i never met you in person. 1992, i was a congressman and i was redistributed from brooklyn to a district partially in brooklyn, partially in queens. I had enough. Shes heard the story. So i was campaigning in queens, to meet my constituents and a woman comes over to me and says your congressman schumer and i said yes and she says i read in the Queens Tribune youre my new congressman. I said yes i am, she said id like to pay you a compliment. Ive never met you in person but i want once you religiously and you have more courage than any other member of congress. Thats a pretty tall statement, there are 535 members of congress and there are no good next but most are very estimable people, what makes you say i have more courage than any of the others . She said look, iwatched cspan religiously even though i havent met you in person and every time you rise your feet to see , you have the courage to wear a yarmulke. I said thank you very much maam, its obvious you havent met me in person, not a yarmulke. I love these stories. I had time for one more john . X okay, theres another story you cannot tell most of these in augsburg. So before and ajc crowd its very good. So this was when i was first sworn in as a member of congress and my whole family came down and we are waiting in the anteroom to be sworn in by then speaker to oneill and my grandmother of blessed memory grabs oneill and as was her wants, oh, i forgot beginning. My grandmother, my given name is charles. But we had an old charlie on my father side my mom didnt like so she said if you want to name him charles, began the charlie, he is chuck. My mother is who tomorrow willturn 89 , my dad will turn 94 on flag day. But in any case, so she always calls me chucky. Even now, shes always call chucky, why are you doing more . But my grandmother would always call me chucky, chuck and you which i think in yiddish means little chucky. I dont know what it means but thats what i thought, hope it doesnt mean something worse. In any case, so she grabs oneill as his or one and began to tell them for life story and she said we were sworn board in the little town of georgia felicia but the egg business went bad so we moved to america but after each little one shed say take good care of chuck and you and she said when she came to america they had no money and she would walk three miles to save a nickel car to work in the sweatshops, take good care of chuck and you. She had three beautiful sons shesaid, they all fought in the war and none of them ran away she said , because they were breastfed. Take good care of chuckinu and now, our grandson is being sworn in, her son aiden didnt go to college and her grandson is being sworn in as a congressman of the United States, what a great country we have. Okay. I go out on the floor, im sworn in. I go out to dinner and celebrate, the family goes home and is my first day. My guess, i dont really know what to do and the phone rings. And someone calls and says the speaker oneill wants to see you immediately. Oh boy. It was sort of like the first day of school and youre already called into the principals office. What did i do wrong . So i rushed over on intense room, my knees are knocking and a lovely man comes to me and says chuck, and very much enjoyed meeting your entire family, especially your grandmother but answer for me one question, what is a chuckinu and how do we take care of it . [applause] he thought she was lobbying on some issue or other. Okay. First on a far more serious note, the horrible, rebel attacks in london over the weekend, another reminder that the Global Community faces Global Threats and the values and principles we have come to cherish, we will only be able to confront and ultimately get the stress by working together and Standing Shoulder to shoulder and the one other point i made, the whole world has experienced the horror of terrorism but 30, 40 years ago it was only israel experienced it and the rest of the world in pay too much attention and it grew and grew and grew. Will never make that mistake again wherever terrorism rears its ugly head. So first let me talk about something we are all troubled and worried about. That is the rising tide of antisemitism around the world. It seems every time we think for a moment weve entered a more enlightened era of tolerance, that ageold demon anticynicism rears its ugly head again and come back with an ambulance. Over the past five years weve watched almost with astonishment and disbelief the specter of antisemitism rise again in europe. Where it seems to live in the soil as their original sin. I once addressed the president , i was talking about the iran deal and one of my objections was that the europeans had too much state and i explained to him that it was sort of a deep vote and too much of europe to be antisomatic and it leads to a lack of sympathy for israel. We have seen neonazi gangs in the streets of european capitals, far right politicians running on platforms that openly promote hostility toward jews and other religious minorities, European Jews these days dont feel safe sending their children jewish day schools, buying groceries at the local kosher market, going to synagogue on shabbat. Antisemitism in europe is an outrage, it ought to be condemned by the leaders of the world and every nationality. Antisemitism always simmers just beneath the surface in europe as i mentioned. Its been far more troubling to see it emerge in america. Earlier this year, it felt like almost every day a new report of synagogues and graffiti with swastikas, jewish cemeteries vandalized, desecrated and waves of bomb threats to our Jewish Committee centers and day schools. It seems the darkest, most hateful fringes of our society from the far right to the far left have become emboldened. We simply cant stand for this. After continued to bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts is with justice, we must continue to speak out and show those who traffic in hatred and bigotry that we will not abide and i want to complement ajc. Youve been tireless on this front. Initiatives like mayors united against antisexism, the muslim jews Jewish Advisory Council launched by ajc and the Islamic Society of north america, i had a meeting with the council of leaders earlier this year which is great, shows what we must do. Together, join together and fight back against all forms of hate. Ive worked hard to push the federal government to do everything in its power to combat these threats wherever they may arise. At my urging the fcc, federal Communications Commission announced the Jewish Community centers and other risk organizations have been granted special emergency waivers that make it much easier for Law Enforcement to access all their id information to track down and prosecute these commit criminals. Law enforcement has the tools to get behind it, the fcc had to give them permission. Recently congress allocated 25 million for the nonprofit security Brand Program which provides nonprofits and religious organizations with the resources foremergency preparedness. Money saves lives and im proud to say bipartisan, we increase the funding this year to new highs and we played a big role in that as well. [applause] International Efforts like by groups like you continued leadership from the United States is the only thing we have, but it works. We just have to keep working diligently, we cant give up, we cant shrug our shoulders , we have to keep working. On bdf, john mentioned the great ad that i read this morning on the shuttle coming down that culminates, that was the culmination of a great deal of hard work for what you have done. Now, the bile attraction i mentioned before are so despicable and motivated by hate the antisemitic aspects cant be ignored but sometimes antisemitism is cloaked, hidden by certain movements that profess no bias but suspiciously hold israel and by extension the jewish people to a different standard than others. Theres no greater example of this insidious effort to harm the jewish state been through the boycotts of investment and sanctions. The global bds movement is a deeply biased campaign aimed at delegitimizing the jewish state and its supporters, sometimes wittingly, sometimes unwittingly but all of them practice a modern form of anticynicism. We have to call them out for that. I want to tell you. [applause]. A little story. When i was a college student, the sds which was sort of the leftwing radical movementbut it switched. Its moved from free love and smoke pot and have hair down your shoulders and all that stuff, where bellbottoms. Anyone here remember what bellbottoms were there probably coming back and i didnt notice but anyway, they switch and they were taken over by a hardcore group and one of their campaigns was against the state of israel. There shouldnt be a jewish state, zionist imperialism so i was active in both Harvard Young democrats and we invited yvonne to come speak and 2000 people gathered in the auditorium there called Sanders Theater and the sds, plp was in the balcony and they had their banners about zionist imperialism, free palestine, whatever. Ibahn in his tone which i will not try to imitate at the request of my staff, i would love to do it. John was right, what he said. But he pointed to them. He said i want to tell you something, you up there in the balcony. I said for centuries, for centuries theres been a double standard that affects jews. A jew was allowed to be a farmer, im sorry, noah jew was not allowed to be a farmer, everyone else was. And you could not live in moscow, everyone else could. And you could not do this, that or the other thing and he said you in the balcony, when every other people gained their nation, you applauded and he named a few countries. Sri lanka or zambia or paraguay becomes an independent country, you applauded. Theres only one group of people that you criticize that you attack when they become a nation and that is the state of israel. You, he said, are antisemites. They slink away. They picked up their banners and never in the last few years that i was in college to the sds lc attacked israel again. That kind of calling out for what it is is very, very important cause the double standard. [applause] the double standard exists today with them. Bds condemns israel, they impose boycotts, they seek to impose boycotts solely on the jewish state but willfully turn a blind eye to nations that violate human rights. Went around sponsors terror and executes dissenters, bds is quiet. When arab nations jail journalists, punish homosexuality with prison sentences and physical abuse , dds is nowhere to be found. And thats because the state of israel is all too frequently measured by a different double standard than the rest of the world. Its up to us to fight these efforts to the nail and not only unjust and immoral, their counterproductive in achieving a truly lasting peace between israel and the palestinians so again, you deserve a huge round of applause or what you did with the governors. [applause] are state of new york has passed a law that says if youre visiting the university that boycott israel, new york will boycott you. Just last week. Just last week, nevada did the same. We should call on every governor of every state to pass the same exact law. [applause] on the 50th anniversary of the reunification of the rochelle i am, lets be clear. Many bds supporters have the same goal as the armies that amassed on israel order to annihilate the jewish state. Then, as we defeated them, bds supporters will be defeated as well. [applause] another place where cloaked antisemitism lurks is in the halls of the United Nations. The un singles out israel more than any other nation, especially in the Human Rights Council which remains hellbent on admonishing the only beachhead of democracy and Representative Government and equal rights in the middle east. I was heartened to hear the new secretary general recently say he would be on thefrontlines in the fight against antisemitism. He claimed israel must be treated as any other state in the un and just last week , danny dinner was elected Vice President of the 72nd session of the un general assembly. That progress, ajc played a role in that as well. And your continued engagement as a group with un officials in turtle bay is very important area at the un we can never let our guard down. To say that zionism is racism, the un has been an incubator for israel bashing, a forum where israel is almost always the victim and never the villain, we should all be wary of it. I hope one day it will happen. And should never use of the United Nations as a forum to put pressure on israel of any kind. [applause] iran. Finally, an engaged and eric is particularly important when it comes to iran which continues to set so instability throughout the region. The regime continues to provide support to its proxies in the region, conduct Ballistic Missile tests, flagrantly abuse the human rights of its own people and unjustly imprisoned foreigners. We must work with our partners in the region to counter irans maligned activities, just, and a special hold of feet to the fire on compliance with jcpoa. As john mentioned earlier, i didnt supported that it passed. I dont think we should now violate this agreement. We should be watchful waiting to see what happens. It is, however, incumbent upon us to remain vigilant and watch i ran like a hawk outside of the jcpoa. Their provocative missile tests, their sponsorship of terrorism, the human rights abuses are outrageous. It is imperative in the congress. Congress. We act in a bipartisan way to counter this behavior and keep that regime in check. [applause] my friends, the challenge before us are great, antisemitism at home and abroad, nefarious campaigns leveled against israel at the u. N. And in the form of the movement calls for a new brand of isolationists that would leave the United States less able to confront and combat each of those threats, and many more beside. The only way we can protect the progress we have made, defend our friends and allies including israel, and continue to work towards a more peaceful and prosperous world is if america leads. [applause] when the world cannot trust america to live up to its commitments that unsettle, that unsettles our allies and emboldens our adversaries. When america does not stand up for human rights and democratic principles beyond our borders, that weakens our facility to those values within our borders fidelity. The world has been a better place, my friends, when america is a beacon for freedom and tolerance. When people around the world continue to look up to the lady who holds the torch in the harbor in the city in which i live, when economic and social advancement is a goal for all peoples, america has always been a better country when we embrace that role. What would it mean for israel and the jewish people worthiest to retreat, to look inward and disengage from a world thats evermore interconnected and interdependent . The challenges we face will not go away if america closes her eyes to the next four years. They will still be there when she opens them and it will have grown immensely. So the best thing i say to you with complete conviction, the best thing for israel and for macworld over is a strong engaged america on the world stage. We must work to keep it that way. [applause] well, the late shimon perez once called ajc the Foreign Ministry of the jewish people. Your founders believed the jewish people needed to be master of their own destiny, no matter where they lived. So they worked hard to engage the world, to forge new relationships, to build bonds with nations and communities worldwide. And he did this while promoting the virtues of pluralism, democracy, human rights. For jews and nonjews alike. In the spirit of your founders more than a century ago, ajc knows this type of Global Engagement is the only way, the only way to ensure true progress here today this approach and your mission are more important than ever. Together, lets continue to make sure america engages the world and fight intolerance wherever it arises. Lets make sure america continues to lead for the sake of the values and the principles we all hold so dear. Thank you, and keep up the good work, everybody. [applause] we grew up in a very politically engaged family that was part of, part of the Jewish Community as well as the civic life of the city of detroit. And every friday night there was this gathering of whatever Family Member was available. They had chicken and we would have the wine and the apple pie, but we would have, it would go on for hours afterwards, this lab the conversation about what was going on in the world. And the theme was to be engaged and to be involved. Whatever the issue was we would go around the table and everybody was expected to speak. And in the end it was really all about everybody coming at how to go about repairing the world and how do we protect individual rights and how do we as family be part of that effort . To me ajc is a natural progression from what weve learned growing up because what ajc does well is about relationships. The people who you meet at ajc are the people my grandmother would invite to dinner. Agc felt like family. It felt like coming home to that dinner. Its what we do as an organization, an active expression of what we learned growing up, which is you are a member of your community, your job in the world is to make the whole world better. And thats what agc does. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome ajc executive Council Member bobby layton. [applause] good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to what is my own personal favorite moment of each Ajc Global Forum, the annual great debate. This year, 2017, perhaps more than any other year in recent times i think we would all agree has been defined by polarizing and oftentimes painful disagreements. In the boardroom, at the table and beyond. And, of course, the Ajc Global Forum is no exception. But a gcs course is not new to this reality. Every year we have featured passionate debates about the days most pressing issues in global affairs. And over time this segment, the great debate, has become an enduring fixture in our global form programming. As many of us im sure will recall last two democratic congressman steve israel faced off against republican strategist dan sonora over which Political Party best represented American Jewish interest. And the year before you may recall we witness a rather Firing Exchange between two wellknown israeli journalists, about the future of the twostate solution or the lack thereof. In years past we have hosted vigorous and memorable contest between roger cohen and Craig Stevens on iran, yosi kleine and peter on zionism and congressman barney frank and last nights guest bill kristol on the 2012 president ial election. But throughout, throughout our global our goal has been to read spirited conversations between two prominent thinkers who hold very opposite opinions, and that holds true today. In just we welcome to our stage todays two debaters both of whom are good Close Friends of ajc. On the one side we welcome ambassador wendy sherman, the former undersecretary of state for Political Affairs for president obama and lead negotiator on the iranian deal. On the other side we will welcome Michael Doran, a former senior director of the National Security council and the george w. Bush administration and whate of the architects of the bush administrations middl mideast. So with a jaycees alone jason isaacs and serving as our most able moderator, ambassador sherman and mr. Doran will both try to answer the question, the America First approach, is it advancing or is it compromising u. S. Interests abroad. So ladies and gentlemen, settle in, fasten your seatbelts. Before we get i like to turn your attention please to the presentation on the screen or a brief video introduction. Thank you. [applause] my Foreign Policy will always put the interests of the American People and American Security above all else. Has to be first. Candidate trump promised a Foreign Policy that put America First. President trumps first months in office have the public and partisan asking is America First more about style or substance . So im looking at two state and one state, and i like the one that both parties like. President trump is signaled a potentially new approach to arabisraeli peace following strains between the Obama Administration and israel. What will this mean for u. S. Policy on the israelipalestinian conflict . One of the worst deals ive ever seen is the iranian deal. Despite blasting divan nuclear deal, President Trump shows no sign as yet avoiding the obama the administrations agreement with tehran. Will this stance change . We had been very clear to the assad regime and a red line for us is chemical weapons. President obama to a red line with syria on Chemical Warfare but it was President Trump not president obama who launched missile strikes against the assad regime. How will this more muscular posture affect the course of the syrian conflict . I am committed to setting relationship between our two nations. The Obama Initiative to reset relations with russia faltered as Vladimir Putin challenged his neighbors and expanded moscows influence. It would be wonderful nato and our country to get along with russia. Right now we are not getting along with russian at all. Will President Trumps attempts to set a new course with the kremlin fare any better . As the debate continues over what President Trumps America First policies mean for the role of the u. S. In the world, one thing is certain. The world is not waiting. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our debaters and moderator Michael Doran, ambassador wendy sherman, and ajcs jason isaacson. [applause] good afternoon. In the four and half months since his inauguration, which he promised quote from this day forward is going to be only America First, America First. President trump has put forward policies that seek to reposition the nuts states on the world stage, sorting america and his predecessors had been taken advantage of by friends and foes alike. He has taken a series of steps and intended to defend your sovereignty and reverse the unfair treatment he believes our country has suffered. President has withdrawn the nest from one major trade deal and pledged to reexamine 14 others pickiest propose sharp cuts in the state department and foreign aid budgets here gets lashed out publicly at mexico, canada, australia and germany, and in his first nato summit a we can ethically publicly scolded our closest allies for owing american money for their defense. Last week the president announced the United States would pull out of the 196 nation pairs climate accord, arguing it would cost our country trillions of dollars in stating i was elected to represent the citizens of pittsburgh, not paris. Against this disruptive record thereof also been multiple signs of reassurance that american foreignpolicy was not so different after all. The president has asserted nato is no longer obsolete. He has stuck with the iran nuclear deal, prince of indigo should i ambassador sherman, will seek and to intensify pressure on iran for its dangerous a list of Missile Program and its support for terror and subversion. He has made common cause against terrorism with some 15 muslim majority nations pickiest pledge unshakable partnership with israel. So id like to begin our debate by asking the ambassador sherman and Michael Doran to define the intentions and implications of President Trumps America First foreignpolicy. And further to step back from the daily tidal wave of russia gate news and other distractions and tell us what the administration is pursuing essentially a course correction in traditional u. S. Foreignpolicy, or parsley what might be described as a disengagement from world affairs. But before turnin returning to r debaters, quick word about ground rules. Ambassador sherman and mr. Durand will each have minutes to speak and then three minutes apiece to respond to each other. While their speaking and while i am then followed up with a couple of questions of my own, ill ask you to write in your own questions on the cards that on your chairs and pass them to the ajc staff circulating in the isles, or if youre watching this debate online tweet your questions to ajcglobal the antipose as many questions as time allows i will ask our debaters for completing remarks and now i will begin to ambassador sherman. Thank you. Im very honored to the today at the Agency Global forum in to be part of your annual great debate on this very consequential question. Like the New York Times lead editorial said yesterday, i believe that President Trump is leading america in retreat from the world, a dangerous position that seized control of our future to others, undermined the economic and physical security and undermines American Values. Its important to set America First and its Historic Context especially important for all of us who are jews. As most of you know America First was the organizational name of movement in america in the 1930s led by Charles Lindbergh among others to keep america out of world war ii. Lindbergh was profoundly antisemitic and progerman and isolationist internationalist. Lindbergh here of the skies that he was, was also some who wanted to keep out of america, those who did not look like him, people who were not quote real americans. That President Trump adopted this moniker should concern all of us as a jews, and as americans. The echoes of isolationism building walls, people not like us and abrogation of people rights are too loud for comfort. Ththe president as he campaigned understood there were people hurting in america. Families lost jobs to technology and trade, who were buffeted by rapid social change and felt an anchored and unseen. His answer was America First. When the answer lies elsewhere. Were it full employment is even if some are underemployed and try to take care of the kids in college on incomes that stagnated in the wake of the recession. The answer for these families is better job retraining, real trade adjustment assistance, a highly minimum wage, a college loan system that works, and an embrace of a new and future economy. It is not America First in a retreat from the world. Historically, we as a people know better than anyone that closing ones eyes to the world is a recipe for disaster. The Trump Administration has for the most part tried to disconnect from critical alliances, core American Values and lifesaving objectives. Most recently of course the president withdrew from the paris climate agreement, a nonbinding commitment by 200 countries to voluntarily reduce harmful in mission to save the planet. Withdrawing from the agreement will not bring back old jobs, but it will make it harder for us to compete in new technologies. Hopefully, leadership by governors, mayors and major employers will save us from ourselves and to ensure our grandchildren have a future. At the very start of his presidency, President Trump withdrew from the Transpacific Partnership leaving allies and partners to wonder if they should turn to china although the president back off his total obfuscation of nader, he hectored our European Partners and let them to fend off russian aggression. Following the stop in saudi arabia that contained no tough messages. He visited israel the left unclear his way forward and, of course, he withdrew from the paris agreement. The president has offered a budget that reduces the state department and usaid budget by 31 while substantially increasing the defense department. I want a strong military. The credible threat of forces is a critical of a successful diplomacy, but as secretary mattis has said, if the diplomacy is guided, he will have to buy more bullets. Further, secretary tillersons along with the white house has not built many of the filled many of the positions leading us leaderless on many, many fronts. Most concerning is the recent wall street journal oped by National Security adviser mcmaster and director of National Economic council calling. They said the world is not a Global Community but an arena where nations, not government actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage. As the New York Times said, this is not hardheaded realism. But quote, a vision of the world of cutthroat competition and zerosum outcomes deeply at odds with the most cooperative rulesbased division that is motivated americas ally since world war ii. The Trump Administration vision of competition will not allow nations to Work Together to defeat terrorism, deal with Climate Change him advance have a security, stop in the mix, reduce poverty trading middle classes worldwide that create markets for American Goods and embrace our values. We believe in the concept of america should as well. The american Jewish Committee was founded in 1906 to prevent the infringement of civil and religious rights of use and to alleviate the consequences of persecution for i know i have three seconds but i will be fast. As ajc till it ought against immigration was together twice can human rights of viewing in 1945, equality for all americans in the 50s while the boycott of israel in the 70s and today, and for soviet jewry in the 90s began International Engagement in a diplomatic marathon in suppor subordinate intervention in kosovo, and in the 21st century opened a Transatlantic Institute in brussels, helped raise money for victims of the south africa, south asian tsunami and hurricane katrina, and advocated for Energy Independence and green policies. I could go on about all ajc has done to engage in the world. Clearly, ajc believes the United States and its people are a forceful global peace and security. Ajc has never been an America First organization. Nor should our country be. [applause] thank you. Thank you, wendy. Mike doran, you have an extra 30 seconds. Thanks. And thanks to all of you for coming. Thanks to agency for inviting me. I completely agree with ambassador sherman, its a great honor to be in this company debating this consequential issue. I do have a slightly different position. I think that the starting point for understanding, a circle starting point for understanding America First is not Charles Lindbergh. Aas a former educator i can guarantee you that nobody under the age of 65 in the country rumors Charles Lindbergh as american first, 1 threats. I i think a better place historically it started would be march of 2016. I know the phrase predated that by to understand what its all about i think we should go to then. That was then when Bernie Sanders defeat Hillary Clinton in the democratic primary. For those of you whove read the book shattered, the inside account of the clinton campaign, you know that sanders victory completely blindsided Hillary Clinton. She walked around after, talk to her staff after the event saying that she was utterly mystified by the behavior of the voters and didnt understand why she wasnt connecting with them. The book also tells you in the enlightening first chapter that the campaign had a great difficulty at the beginning coming up with an explanation for Hillary Clintons desire to be president come to explain what it is why she wanted the presidency. Thats after almost a decade of running for president. The book is enlightening about Hillary Clinton, and she is in the subject, but really i think its a much deeper message to us than just Hillary Clinton or her campaign. Its really a story about the complete disconnect between the washington elite and the voting public, and i would include in that ambassador sherman and myself. I think the last election was a wakeup call for all of us. We have our foreignpolicy elite is not fashioning a message and policies the resident with the priorities of the American People, and thats what America First means number one. A foreignpolicy that resonates with voters and demonstrates the voters that are elite is indeed trying to advance their interests on the global stage. Thats the first point. The second point is, it is a resounding rejection of the philosophy of the Obama Administration. And i would say the absolute failed philosophy of the Obama Administration, which was error to a point of view after the end of the cold war, for lack of a better term i will call the end of history viewpoint, advance by frances fukuyama. According to this view our elite decided especially the democratic delete decided that things like alliance, credible use of force, military deterrence and so on were outmoded, often counterproductive and damaging to the United States. And if you doubt me onto just go back and read the u. N. General Assembly Speeches that president obama gave year after year where he explicitly, explicitly develop this concept saying things like we are no longer in an age when one country can dominate another and so forth. This was a philosophy that led the administration to reach out to enemies and to distance itself from friends pic we saw t in the middle east most dramatically in the iran deal. President obamas and two towards the middle east was that he was an arena populated by friends and potential friends. And he went to a great extent to win over the potential friends like iran at the expense of our friends, israel. In order to do this he had to deceive the israelis and the American Public on a number of areas, with the consequences we also enough. If i had come to you at this forum in 2013 and told you the consequence of president obamas policies was going to be the rise of the russian iranian allies across the middle east, development of an arabian Territorial Court or, tehran to beirut, to displacement of 10 Million People in syria, the injection into europe of millions of refugees or at least over 1 million refugees, if i told you that iran was going to emerge from the deal with the right to enrich and reprocess uranium and within tenures who would a completely unfettered program with, which the International Committee would look on like a broken penis country, and would would be effectively and International Law on par with belgian, you wouldve laughed at me, you wouldve rolled her eyes and you wouldve said this is a completely dysfunctional fantasy. But its not. Its a reality and israeli i was a direct result of the philosophy of president obama which President Trump has rejected. And if you notice in his trip to the middle east [applause] thank you. You got to do a little clouded because it wasnt as strong as the other. [laughing] if you note in his trip to the middle east, he was embraced by our allies, like israel, by saudi arabia with Something Like euphoria. The israelis are doing cartwheels in the air right now, thats what America First means. Perfect time. My god come on looking at the time or impressive. Mike, thank you. [applause] wendy, you right of rebuttal. Well, a couple of points. Perhaps you have to be over 65, which i certainly am, to remember lindbergh. But i think that we all teach every generation never again. [applause] and to ensure never again means not closing ones eyes to the world, but rather understanding the world as it is. Yes, the world in many ways has got more complicated after the end of the cold war. Because everyone has lined up with one side or the other. And yes, it is true that there are many powers and rising powers, though the United States represents the only superpower in the world at the moment. Thats not to say that russia and china are not trying to become superpowers. China most decidedly and certainly. Putin is trying to reconstruct the soviet union in whatever way he possibly can. All of this is true. Iran does engage in the line activities in the region by the matches you can see all of this debate later in a Program Schedule a later oe
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