Students Attend AEI Dinner for Netanyahu

On Monday, Nov. 9 Phil Hoxie ‘17.5 and Alexander Khan ’17 attended the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) annual dinner and award ceremony in Washington D.C. This year, the Irving Kristol Award was given to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The American Enterprise Institute is, according to its website, “a private, nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution dedicated to research and education on issues of government, politics, economics and social welfare.” The think tank, founded in 1938, claims a non-partisan position, but is often cited as a right-leaning counterpart to the left-leaning Brookings Institution. The annual award is named after Irving Kristol, who is considered the father of American neo-conservatism, and many of its current staff members were involved in the second Bush Administration.
Although the delegates did have to pay for their plane tickets, Hoxie, who is the Vice-chair for the Vermont Federation of College Republicans, said that the institute gave them tickets for free, while others were charged around $2000 to attend.
The dinner itself, according to Khan, who is co-president of the Middlebury College Republicans, was a black-tie dinner and was attended by roughly a thousand people. Around twenty students attended, many of whom attended the AEI’s Summer Honors Program or served as interns for members of the executive council.
Among the many influential people who attended the event, Khan and Hoxie were able to meet political commentator Bill Kristol and former Vice President Dick Cheney. They also were able to meet Senator Jon Kyl from Arizona and Congresswoman Barbara Comstock ’81 from Virginia.
Netanyahu, after receiving his award, participated in a conversation with AEI Executive Vice President of Foreign & Defense Policy Danielle Pletka. Netanyahu began the discussion by paying homage to Irving Kristol, the namesake of the award.
“I do remember Irving Kristol as a great intellect, as a fearless intellect,” Netanyahu said. “Political correctness was thrown out of the window. He called it like he saw it and he had a profound influence on many. He had a profound influence on me. And I consider myself honored and privileged to have spent many hours with him.”
Among the other comments he made, he praised the United States for its continual support of Israel and characterized the war with Islamism as a war of ideologies that needed to be resolved with material warfare.
“My point is in addition to the battle of ideas, there’s the battle,” he said. “You have to win the battle. And the earlier you win it, the cheaper it will be. The longer you wait, eventually these forces will dissipate because there is no hope. There is no future for a world of darkness. And I think the Islamists will lose out, but it may take decades. It may take half a century. Nazism was defeated but it claimed the life of millions, tens of millions of people and a third of my people.”
The American Enterprise Institute released a statement Sunday which said that, “With the help of America, Europeans must find a common resolve to end the conflict in Syria. The current strategy, which consists of hoping that the war will go away, is not working. If anything, the fact that liberal democracies had almost completely vacated the space and allowed Iran and Russia to run the show made the situation in Syria so catastrophic and emboldened ISIL.”
According to Huffington Post, “Netanyahu said on Sunday that international leaders should condemn attacks against Israelis in the occupied West Bank just as they have the bloodshed in Paris, which left 129 people dead and hundreds injured, many of whom are in a critical condition.”
The AEI Club at Middlebury was started last fall by Hoxie, Khan and Jen Lifhits ’15. Before their weekly Thursday night meetings, they send out an article from the New York Times or Washington Post that covers an issue or an event. They also occasionally host speakers on campus. This Saturday, Nov. 21 they are hosting a Skype conversation with AEI’s resident scholar Norman Ornstein, which will take place at 4:30 in Library 105.
Along with the creation of the AEI Club at Middlebury, Khan, Hoxie and Hayden Dublois ’17 brought the Republican Club back to Middlebury after a brief hiatus. “It wasn’t really a club for the past two years.” Khan said. “We didn’t have regular meetings at all. Or members.” Hoxie added, laughing.
Although many of the members of the AEI are conservative through their association with the Republican Club, it is open to people of all political backgrounds.
“It is not conservative, or Republican, or one ideology.” Khan said. “It’s non-partisan… It’s open to people of all political backgrounds.”