doi:10.7916/4kp2-nh32Oral history interview with Michael M. Kassen, 2022Kassen, Michaeloral historiesmixed materialPresidents--United StatesArab-Israeli conflict--1993-Land settlement--Government policy--IsraelIsraelis--Colonization--West BankIsraelis--Colonization--Gaza StripUnited States Foreign relations IsraelIsrael Foreign relations United StatesKassen, MichaelObama, BarackAmerican Israel Public Affairs CommitteeJoint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015 July 14)Michael Kassen discusses his activities during the years of the Obama presidency, with particular emphasis on his service as president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) from 2012 to 2014. Kassen recounts his upbringing and involvement with Zionist organizations, and outlines the structure and activities of AIPAC. He focuses on the Obama administration's foreign policy for the Middle East and North Africa, and speaks widely about the administration's provision of security assistance to Israel, approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and policy toward Iran. Kassen provides details about his encounters with President Obama and other administration officials, and shares stories from his participation in White House meetings in January and August 2015 focused on the Iran nuclear deal, which AIPAC opposed. Also discussed are Kassen's evaluation of the administration's foreign policy; the United States' December 2016 abstention from United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 concerning the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories; the trajectory of partisan politics in Washington surrounding Israel; AIPAC's approach to Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense in January 2013; and Obama's June 2009 speech to the Muslim world in Cairo