Herzliya

“Neocon Woodstock” is just a fabulous headline.

Instead of a lot of young naked people frolicking under the influence of LSD, the Herzliya Conference has a lot of middle-aged nerdy people fretting over the influence of IRGC (the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps). Less good vibrations, more clash of civilizations. As at Woodstock, there’s also a mood of mutual congratulation, a belief among the participants that they are the enlightened. “Herzliya is the place where the neocons get together to pat themselves on the back about being right about everything,” says Gershon Baskin, who leads the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information. “That’s the mentality. They are right and everyone else just doesn’t get it.” It’s probably not correct to say that Herzliya is where a lot of big decisions are made. But it’s a place where relationships that can shape those decisions are created and renewed.

The conference has also become a regular stop for aspiring presidential candidates looking to burnish both their national security and pro-Israel credentials in one stop, with John McCain, Mitt Romney and John Edwards all making appearances in 2007. This year, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour spoke on the closing night, preaching the gospel of offshore oil drilling through his thick Southern drawl to a perplexed audience. One Israeli official laughed that these appearances were almost entirely for American political consumption. “Israelis have no idea who these people are.”