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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

CLINTON: RELUCTANT, UNCOMMITTED IN SUPPORTING ISRAEL


The rise of ISIS, the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, growing sectarian
violence, and political and social destabilization across the Middle East have all
increased the isolation of Americas strongest ally, Israel.
As the Middle East continues to grow more dangerous under President Obamas
watch, Hillary Clinton, the chief architect of Obamas failed foreign policy, is
seeking to become the next President of the United States.
Can Hillary Clinton be trusted to uphold Americas commitment to Israels security?
One look at her record reveals that she has been reluctant, in supporting Israel.

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

QUESTIONABLE LEVEL OF COMMITMENT TO THE RELATIONSHIP


During Clintons tenure as Secretary of State, she only made five diplomatic trips to
Israel, a number which pales in comparison to past secretaries.

Clinton managed to travel to another Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States,
Egypt, 6 times.
T H E WAS H I NGTO N P O ST:

But Clinton made only five visits to Israel the least


of any full-term secretary of state since William Rogers,
who served in the Nixon administration.
(GLENN KESSLER, HILLARY CLINTONS OVERSEAS DIPLOMACY VERSUS
OTHER SECRETARIES,THE WASHINGTON POST, 1/4/13)

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

THE CLINTON-OBAMA HARDLINE AGAINST ISRAEL


Secretary Clinton embodies the Obama Administrations clear break with
traditional U.S. policy towards Israel and her decision to get tough was to the
detriment of U.S.-Israel relations.
T H E WAS H I NGTO N P O ST:

The new administration has pushed a reset button


with Russia and sent new ambassadors to Syria and
Venezuela; it has offered olive branches to Cuba
and Burma. But for nearly three months it has been
locked in a public confrontation with Israel over Jewish
housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
To a less visible extent, the two governments also have
differed over policy toward Iran.
(EDITORIAL, TOUGH ON ISRAEL, THE WASHINGTON POST, 7/30/09)
As chief diplomat, Secretary Clinton was in charge of leading this dramatic shift in
policy. Clinton expressed increased frankness and publicly criticized Israel on a
host of issues. Her public criticisms led to a significant deterioration in relations,
and an unproductive working relationship.
Clinton is proud that she became the designated yeller for Israel

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

C LI N TO N :

And I was often the designated yeller. Something


would happen, a new settlement announcement would
come and I would call him up, what are you doing?
Youve got to stop this.
(CNNS FAREED ZAKARIA GPS, 7/27/14)
In Her Book, Hard Choices, Clinton referred to Gaza and the West Bank as
occupied territories twice.
In a 2012 speech, Clinton blamed Israel for missed opportunities, a lack of
generosity, and a lack of empathy. Clinton lectured Israelis that there is more
that they need to do to really demonstrate that they do understand the pain of
oppressed people in their minds.
C LI N TO N :

So, look, Im not making excuses for the missed


opportunities of the Israelis, or the lack of generosity,
the lack of empathy that I think goes hand-in-hand
with the suspicion.
(HILLARY CLINTON, REMARKS AT THE SABAN CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY
2012 SABAN FORUM OPENING GALA DINNER, WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/30/12)
In 2011, Clinton played a role in shifting U.S. policy on Israeli border negotiations
one day before Prime Minister Netanyahus arrival, declaring that prevailing
borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war should be the basis of a peace agreement.
The Israeli government protested saying that Obama and Clintons stance would
make Israel indefensible. Despite Mr. Netanyahu airing his concerns to Clinton on
the day before President Obamas announcement, the policy shift went forward.
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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

CLINTONS FERVOR ON SETTLEMENTS


Clinton criticized settlement activity with a fervor that surprised Mr. Obamas
advisers. Clinton spent 43 minutes venting U.S. frustration

Mrs. Clintons marching orders from the White House


were to demand that Israel cease the building of
Jewish settlements in the West Bank as a way to lure
the Palestinians into talks, and she did so with a fervor
that surprised Mr. Obamas advisers.
(MARK LANDLER AND AMY CHOZICK, HILLARY CLINTON STRUGGLES TO
DEFINE A LEGACY IN PROGRESS, THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4/16/14)
Her fervent condemnation of settlements led to one of the worst U.S.-Israeli feuds
in memory and the postponement of a U.S. envoy trip intended to relaunch IsraelPalestine peace talks.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren called the public fight over
settlement construction the lowest point in U.S.-Israeli relations since the mid1970s.
In a 2010 speech before AIPAC, Clinton said Israeli settlement activity undermined
trust between the U.S. and Israel, and made the US role in the peace process
increasingly difficult.

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

ISRAEL IN HER EMAILS


As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was en route to the U.S. to discuss
the recent split, Clinton e-mailed an aide that [the Israelis] always sound cocky
in the air or on the ground. (Hillary Clinton Email to Jacob Sullivan, 3/22/10, State
Department Release 2/26/16)

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

Clintons Anti-Israeli Adviser


As recent email releases have shown, while Clinton was Secretary of State she
often sought and received counsel from Sidney Blumenthal, a former adviser from
Clintons 2008 Presidential campaign. Blumenthal often encouraged Clinton to
take a harder line with Israel, at one point suggesting that the riot act be read to
the Israeli leadership.

Blumenthal weighed in freely on foreign affairs and served as an informer on


domestic politics.
In August 2010, Blumenthal emailed Clinton advising her not to allow Prime
Minister Netanyahu to set terms, there are already terms(Sidney Blumenthal,
Email To Hillary Clinton, 8/23/10, State Department Release, 8/31/15, p.100)
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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

During the Gaza flotilla crisis in 2010, Sid Blumenthal suggested to Clinton that the
administration needed to read the riot act to the Israelis so that Clinton wasnt
in the business of reinforcing Israeli propaganda on the incident. Blumenthal
advocated that Vice President Biden summon then Israeli Ambassador Michael
Oren and subject him to the full-dress Biden treatment. (Sidney Blumenthal
E-mail to Hillary Clinton, 6/1/10, State Department Release, 2/26/16)

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

CLINTONS DIVIDED STANCE ON AN UNDIVIDED JERUSALEM


As Secretary of State, Clinton backtracked on her 2007 pledge that Jerusalem
would be the undivided capital of Israel and was not the active advocate she had
vowed to be while campaigning.

Despite her three-year-old promise during her


unsuccessful campaign to win the Democratic party
nomination to run for president, she did not give a
direct answer to a question Friday concerning her
stand on the undivided capital.
(TZVI BEN GEDALYAHU, CLINTON SIDESTEPS HER UNITED JERUSALEM
PLEDGE, ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS, 9/5/10)

HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

During her appearance at an AIPAC summit in 2010, Clinton stated that the final
status of Jerusalem is an issue to be settled at the negotiating table, leaving the
door open for a divided city.
But when Clinton was courting the pro-Israel vote while campaigning for President
in 2007 she promised, in a position paper, to keep Jerusalem as the undivided
capital of Israel.

Clinton, the U.S. senator from New York and


frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination
believes that Israels right to exist in safety as a Jewish
state, with defensible borders and an undivided
Jerusalem as its capital, secure from violence and
terrorism, must never be questioned.
(RON KAMPEAS, CLINTON: UNDIVIDED JERUSALEM, JEWISH TELEGRAPH
AGENCY, 9/12/07)
Clinton, as a candidate for Senator from New York in 1999, wrote a letter in which
she portrayed herself as an active advocate for moving the U.S. embassy to
Jerusalem. This move would signal, she stated, that Jerusalem is the eternal and
indivisible capital of Israel.
Clintons statement was a radical break from her husbands administration policy,
and critics wondered how she could say this and also have called earlier for
the establishment of an independent Palestinian homeland. (Josh Getlin, Mrs.
Clinton Tries To Go Native In N.Y., Los Angeles Times, 8/15/99)

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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

SECURITY PARTNERSHIP?
Clintons campaign rhetoric often emphasizes defending Israel from the
Iranian nuclear threat and enhancing security cooperation, but during her post
as Secretary of State, Clinton intentionally left Israel out of several security
cooperation summits where Israeli cooperation would have been natural and
expected.
In 2012, Israel was left out of The Global Counterterrorism Forum, a worldwide
forum to combat terrorism.

Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled


to Istanbul to convene a new worldwide forum of
countries to share info and help integrate efforts to
fight terrorism but Israel wasnt invited.
(JOSH ROGIN, WHY DID THE U.S. EXCLUDE ISRAEL FROM THE NEW
COUNTERTERRORISM FORUM, FOREIGN POLICYS THE CABLE, 6/12/12)
During her opening remarks to the forum, Clinton framed the terrorism challenge
as a common global cause, and emphasized the need to coordinate efforts and
establish an integrated long-term strategy to fight terrorist ideology and sources
of funding. However she failed to mention Israel.
Clintons State Department could not give a reason for the omission, but it seems
to have deferred to the wishes of Turkey, who hosted the U.S.-sponsored event.
Also in 2012, Israel was intentionally not invited to attend a NATO Summit, even
though it is a NATO Partner Country. According to the Secretary General, Israel was
left out because it does not participate in NATOs main military missions.
The Anti-Defamation Leagues National Director, Abe Foxman, wrote a letter to
Secretary Clinton protesting Israels exclusion from the summit.

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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

T H E A N TI -D E FAM AT I O N L E AGU E S N AT I O N AL DI RECTO R,


A B E FOX M AN :

We respectfully urge you, Madam Secretary, to find a


way to enable Israels participation in the upcoming
NATO summit so that Turkeys political dispute with
Israel does not detract from the interests of the U.S.,
NATO, Israel, or the other participants in the Chicago
summit.
(ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE NATIONAL DIRECTOR ABE FOXMAN, LETTER TO
SECRETARY HILLARY CLINTON, 5/3/12)
Regardless of whatever Secretary Clintons efforts were, Israel did not participate
in the summit.

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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

CLINTON AND THE IRAN DEAL


As a Senator from New York, Clinton unequivocally backed Israel against a nuclear
Iran and stated that the United States would totally obliterate Iran if Tehran
attacked Israel. We cannot take any option off the table she stated that Iran must
not be permitted to build or acquire nuclear weapons.
But when she had an opportunity to defend Israel, she failed to stand up. As
Secretary of State in 2009, after Iran called Israel a racist nation during a speech at
the Human Rights Council, Clintons State Department dismissed the seriousness
of the rhetoric and stated that it did not preclude the U.S. from engaging in direct
diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear program.
As a Presidential candidate in 2016, Hillary Clinton has not only supported
President Obamas nuclear deal with Iran, but has also touted her work as being a
part of the coalition during her time as Secretary of State that eventually resulted
in the signing of the agreement.
C LI N TO N :

Well, Im very proud of the Iran Nuclear Agreement.


I was very pleased to be part of what the president
put into action when he took office. I was responsible
for getting those sanctions imposed which put the
pressure on Iran. It brought them to the negotiating
table which resulted in this agreement.
(HILLARY CLINTON, DEMOCRAT PRIMARY DEBATE, CHARLESTON, SC, 1/17/16)
Supporters, critics and experts agree: Clintons fingerprints are all over the
nuclear agreement brokered more than two years after she left the State
Department. (Jeremy Diamond, Hillary Clinton Cant Escape Iran Deal In
Presidential Run, CNN, 7/28/15)
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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

The conditions for a good agreement with Iran, however, were not met. Not only
did the Obama administration concede on anytime, anywhere inspections, but it
failed to address the critical issues of Irans ballistic missile capability and support
for terrorism.
At the end of the day, the agreement does not actually solve any of the problems
that Irans nuclear program poses, only postpones the date when the world must
more directly cope with a nuclear Iran.
Experts and editorial boards have widely criticized the deal that Clinton helped
initiate.
COUN CI L O N FO RE I GN RE L AT I O N S RI C HARD HAASS:

The agreement does not in any way resolve the


problems posed by Irans actual or potential nuclear
capabilities. And indeed, many of these problems grow
significantly worse as we come out to 10 or 15 years.
(COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, U.S. SENATE, HEARING, 8/4/15)
WOODROW WI L S O N S CH O L AR AARO N MI L L E R:

The painful and inconvenient truth is that even before


the agreement Iran was a nuclear weapons threshold
state. The agreement will not change that reality.
And it will leave Iran with a sufficiently large nuclear
foundation to give it the capacity to pursue nuclear
weapons down the road should it choose to do so.
(AARON DAVID MILLER, OP-ED, IRANS WIN-WINWIN WIN WIN NUKE DEAL,
THE DAILY BEAST, 7/20/15)
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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

Tehrans Nuclear Triumph


(EDITORIAL, TEHRANS NUCLEAR TRIUMPH, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL,
7/14/15)
Earlier this year John Kerry admitted that some of the over $100 billion in sanctions
relief that Iran secured with the implementation of the deal will end up in the hands
of terrorists.
K ER RY:

I think that some of it will end up in the hands of


the IRGC or other entities, some of which are labeled
terrorists.
(CNBCS SQUAWK BOX, 1/21/16)
Despite all of these developments, Clinton continues to support the deal she
helped orchestrate. Her unwillingness to admit that the flaws in her deal have
empowered Iran, even in the face of Iranian missile tests marked with the
phrase Israel must be wiped out, means that she cannot be trusted to confront
continued Iranian aggression.

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HILLARY CLINTON, NO FRIEND OF ISRAEL

NO DAYLIGHT? ONLY IF IT IS POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT


Since leaving her post as Secretary of State and beginning her 2016 Presidential
bid, Clinton has once again begun to demonstrate that there is no daylight
between Israel and herself.
Jeffry Goldberg of The Atlantic has noted the significant shift in tone.

Much of my conversation with Clinton focused on


the Gaza war. She offered a vociferous defense of
Israel, and of its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,
as well. This is noteworthy because, as secretary of
state, she spent a lot of time yelling at Netanyahu on
the administrations behalf over Israels West Bank
settlement policy. Now, she is leaving no daylight at all
between the Israelis and herself.
(JEFFREY GOLDBERG, HILLARY CLINTON: FAILURE TO HELP SYRIAN REBELS
LED TO THE RISE OF ISIS, THE ATLANTIC, 8/10/14)
As Clinton continues to make the pitch to the American people that she is worthy
of leading one of the United States most important bilateral relationships, her
record as Secretary of State calls into question her commitment to maintaining
Israels security in an increasingly dangerous Middle East.

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