Noting the Passing of Former-AIPAC's Steve Rosen

The sad news coming out of the passing of Steve Rosen comes just months after the sad-passing of Rosen’s former friend and colleague, Martin Indyk.

There are many, many others, far better-qualified to speak about Steve (although whether they will or not is another matter.) But I didn’t personally want to let Steve’s passing go without comment.

I certain wouldn’t call Steve Rosen (or Martin Indyk) either my mentor or friend - or even claim a close (or even distant) relationship to either men. I hadn’t even seen either Rosen or Indyk for many years. And my last “real” conversation with Rosen was almost 20 years before he “left” AIPAC.

But I owe to Steve my career with AIPAC (just as I owe to Martin Indyk my starting my career in Washington.) And I’ve always believed without that first job; I might very-well never got to AIPAC (and then who knows how my career would have proceded.) Indyk and Rosen were the two men who hired me (back when hiring was just a personal decision, subject of course to budgets.) Martin Indyk hired me as fellow to the just-founded Washington Institute for Near East Policy in early 1985. And Steve Rosen hired me for AIPAC in the Summer of1986. (I of course, remained at AIPAC long after Steve’s exit, exiting just a few weeks ago.)

I actually first briefly met Steve - he with the Ben-Gurion/Einstein hair back in those days, which gave him a benign look - when I came down to Washington for my Washington Instittue interview: Steve liked my Graduate School focus on Israel’s critics. “Foreign Affairs Journal and Israel;” “The Mainline Churches and Israel." (Before I ever arrived at AIPAC; Rosen had produced the AIPAC Monograph “The Campaign to Discredit Israel.”) And in my time at the Washington Institute, I encountered Steve, not infrequently!

I’m not going to repeat what will undoubtedly be in his obituaries (which I’m sure there will be a number) or in online assessments. Or to go through Rosen’s career pre, at and post-AIPAC. But if you think “Strategic Cooperation"; think Steve Rosen. Likewise “Executive Branch Lobbying.” (There were about 20 AIPAC “Academic-quality advocacy monographs produced under Rosen. Steve was the “Colossus” of AIPAC.

The controversies with which many are familiar and which led to Rosen’s AIPAC departure and the internal workings of AIPAC I leave to others. Some who didnt like him (or AIPAC) will perhaps speak out. I would just say that I always admired Indyk, who publicly stood by Rosen when so-many others did not.

When I was deciding whether to join AIPAC (as though I had so many other options!); my two primary concerns were what kind of possible “stigma” there might be in my working at AIPAC for my post-AIPAC career (not realizing I’d be remaining at AIPAC for my entire career - leaving only a few weeks ago. ) And considering what it would be like working for Steve whowas one of the central “players” at AIPAC. He was reportedly “mercurial” and perhaps not the easiest person to work for. But he was also brilliant and insightful and of course committed to the cause. (I would just say I always admired Indyk who publicly stood by Rosen when so-many others did not.)

For the most part with a couple of exceptions and a couple of personal “Crises;” after hiring me; Steve pretty much left me alone at AIPAC to do what I did, which probably enabled me to work at AIPAC under him, for so long - almost 20 years)!

Steve is of course, perhaps most famed for his much quoted aphorism “A lobby is like a night flower: it thrives in the dark and dies in the sun.” (I guess in the case of AIPAC, we’ll see!)

Obviously things change; organizations, issues and life goes on. But I believe “The Cause” was hurt by his virtual exit from the scene. My Father used to cite the French expression “Tout passe. Tout casse. Tout lasse et tout se remplace” (Everything happens, everything tires, everything breaks, and everything is replaced.'“)

But I’ll always be eternally-grateful to Steve for hiring me.

Z’L to Steve Rosen. And deepest, deepest condolences to his family.