WASHINGTON - Newt Gingrich will address the AIPAC policy conference.
The former US House of Representatives speaker, who is trailing in the race for the Republican presidential nod, is the first in the GOP field to announce his participation in the March 4-6 conference.Gingrich is slated to speak March 5, a day after US President Barack Obama.
The last time a challenger faced an incumbent, when Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was running against President George W. Bush in 2004, AIPAC said its policy was not to allow challengers to speak. But the AIPAC board has ended the policy, a source close to the lobby told JTA, in part because Kerry and his supporters among AIPAC donors were furious at the snub.
AIPAC spokesman Patrick Dorton confirmed the policy change.
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