Biden, Kerry to be featured speakers at AIPAC conference

Netanyahu will be delivering a special address by satellite Monday night.

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER, JPOST CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON
biden contemplative (photo credit: AP [file])
biden contemplative
(photo credit: AP [file])
US Vice President Joe Biden will be headlining the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference, AIPAC announced Saturday. Biden, who has been a key foreign policy voice in the new Obama administration, is scheduled to address the 6,500 expected participants at the closing plenary on Tuesday. Biden will be joined by John Kerry, chairman of the Senator Foreign Relations Committee, and preceded on Monday by four of the senior members of the House and Senate Leadership, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Virginia), Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Arizona). Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be delivering a special address by satellite Monday night, with President Shimon Peres appearing in person earlier in the day. Though Peres was originally supposed to meet with US President Barack Obama on Monday as well, the meeting was squeezed in on Tuesday instead. He is also due to meet with Biden, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The visit will be the first by an Israeli leader to Washington since the new administrations in both countries took office. Netanyahu, who was originally expected at the AIPAC conference, will instead arrive two weeks later to hold talks with Obama expected to focus heavily on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.