When Zachary Bodner began working for AIPAC less than two years ago as Pacific Northwest deputy director, he faced a different Mideast and in fact a different world.
With peace between Israel and the Palestinians presumably in the air, the America Israel Public Affairs Committee was in the midst of pushing for a foreign aid package for both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, to help such an agreement succeed.
“Massive” was how the new Northern California director described the proposed aid package; “beyond anything anyone could imagine.”
Now as Bodner assumes a new position, it is not only his title that has changed. It is his whole job description.
“Safety and security are Israel’s number one priority,” he said. “And now since Sept. 11, the agenda has changed again. We’re making sure our community stands firmly behind the president and the war on terrorism, and stands firmly behind Israel.”
Bodner’s promotion is not the only change in AIPAC’s regional office.
Elliot Brandt, director of the Pacific Northwest region for the past three years, has moved to Los Angeles to become Western States director in a newly created position. The region includes Alaska and Hawaii.
Brandt will continue to work out of the San Francisco office one week a month. This is his eighth year with the pro-Israel lobby.
“I have been with this organization from Rabin to Bibi to Barak to Sharon,” he said. “I’ve been through all these very different prime ministers and Knessets and very different circumstances in the community here.”
Brandt and Bodner agreed that while the atmosphere in Israel has dramatically changed, the devotion of AIPAC members to Israel has not.
Brandt, who has been to Israel three times in the last four months, characterized the mood there as “as bad as I’ve ever seen it.”
However, “it’s not the traditional form of bad.”
It’s not that Israel feels it will lose its battle with the Palestinians. Rather, he senses a feeling of despair that an end to the violence does not seem within reach. Also, Israelis feel a sense of abandonment.
“So many people from both ends of the spectrum thought that peace might be just around the corner,” Brandt said. “Neither side has an answer now. And the streets are empty. They’re wondering where the American, European and Australian Jews are.”
The situation in Israel may indeed be dire, but it is also inspiring an unprecedented level of activism, the AIPAC officials said.
While there is more to do in the office on a day-to-day basis, as well as from the strategic perspective, “the community has really stepped up,” said Bodner. “Everyone wants to help. Everyone knows Israel is in a crisis.”
Calling AIPAC activists “ambassadors in the community,” Bodner noted that while AIPAC sold out its membership luncheons in the Bay Area in December, that level of support would not have happened just a year ago.
Brandt, who travels frequently throughout the West, agreed. In smaller Jewish communities like Anchorage and Stockton, he has been moved by the level of Israel-inspired activism.
These Jews, he said, are putting themselves on the line when taking a strong stand for Israel is not so easy. “They can be left-wing and right-wing, students or community leaders, but they come to the table with this unbelievable sense of passion.”
Working with such people “connects me to Israel in a way I would have a very difficult time finding anywhere else. I feel I’m doing my part to be there with Israel.”
Brandt believes the Jewish community is more unified now than at any point in his entire tenure at AIPAC.
In Israel, he said, just as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is in a unity government with his ideological foe, Shimon Peres, as foreign minister, the same can be said about American Jews as they have come together in a time of crisis.
“Average Jews who have done nothing before are worried,” said Brandt. “They are enmeshed with their own lives, but it’s gotten to a point where they say, ‘If you show me the door, I’m in. I want to do something.’ They are really worried.”
As deputy director, Bodner will be in charge of the day-to-day operations in the San Francisco office. Five Western coordinators will report to him, and he will continue to oversee grassroots efforts and lay leadership.
Brandt said he didn’t feel as if he were really leaving, as he considers the San Francisco Jewish community his home. “I’m too committed to the community. This is only doable because of a committed group of lay leaders and staff.”
Bodner agreed.
“What I’m hoping to achieve is building on what Naomi [Lauter, Brandt’s predecessor] and Elliot built here,” he said. “And the lay leaders will make the transition easier for me.”