Anti-Hagel Sentiment on Display at AIPAC Conference

New Secretary of Defense has many in the pro-Israel lobby worried

WASHINGTON — Donors to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC gathered in Washington this weekend in the shadow of an appointment the group, for all its legendary clout, appeared powerless to stop.

Many of the supporters of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, as the group is formally known, expressed a kind of resigned frustration towards the confirmation of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, but most avoided direct criticism of AIPAC's inaction during the drawn-out mudfight over the nomination.