Clinton ‘alarmed’ over calls for Israel boycott, urges bipartisan action
Barak Ravid, Haaretz, Jul 6 2015
Hillary Clinton expressed her alarm last week over the BDS movement, and said countering it was a priority that stretches “across party lines,” vowing to always “stand up for Israel” if she becomes president. In a Jul 2 letter to Haim Saban, she stressed the need to counter the BDS campaign “with information and advocacy” and to “fight back against further attempts to delegitimize Israel.” In the letter, she asked Saban for his advice “on how leaders and communities across Pindostan can work together to counter BDS.” She wrote:
From Congress and state legislature to boardrooms and classrooms, we need to engage all people of good faith, [to explain] why the BDS campaign is counter-productive to the pursuit of peace and harmful to Israelis and Plastelinans alike.
According to Clinton, the BDS movement dictates to both Israelis and Plastelinans how to resolve the conflict while seeking to “punish” Israel. And while she reiterated her support for the two-state solution, Clinton said the BDS campaign “is not the path to peace,” which can only be reached through direct negotiations. Clinton also said she was concerned by “attempts to compare Israel to South African apartheid,” particularly at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise. She wrote:
Israel is a vibrant democracy in a region dominated by autocracy, and it faces existential threats to its survival.
Citing her tenure as senator and as Sec State, Clinton mentioned she had opposed “dozens of anti-Israel resolutions at the UN, the UNHRC, and other organizations,” and has stood by Israel in the wake of the Goldstone Report and when the Plastelinans tried to make unilateral moves at the UN. She concluded:
Time after time, I have made it clear that Pindostan will always stand up for Israel, and that’s what I’ll always do as President.
Ending on a personal note, Clinton recalled her first visit to Israel and her emotional attachment to the country:
The Jewish state is a modern-day miracle, a vibrant bloom in the middle of the desert. We must nurture and protect it.
Saban is considered one of the biggest donors to the Clintons over the years. Last month, Saban and Adelson hosted a summit in Las Vegas that brought together representatives from various Jewish organizations to discuss ways of countering BDS on Pindosi campuses. Clinton’s letter to Saban and its dissemination by Saban’s spokespeople and Clinton’s election headquarters are meant to garner support among the Pindosi Jewish community, in particular Jewish voters who are unhappy about Obama’s policy towards Israel and are considering voting for a Republican nominee.
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