Hillary Clinton on Israel

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HILLARY CLINTON’S STEADFAST SUPPORT OF ISRAEL

KEY POINTS:

  • Hillary Clinton has been a staunch supporter of Israel for her entire career.
  • In her book, Hard Choices, she wrote about her work with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Secretary of State saying, “Despite our policy differences, Netanyahu and I worked together as partners and friends… But even when we disagreed, we maintained an unshakable commitment to the alliance between our countries.”
  • Hillary Clinton has forcefully rejected Iran’s push for nuclear weapons.
  • As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton built and maintained a coalition to enact the toughest sanctions in Iran’s history.
    • She has said that “no option can be off the table” and that “we need to use every tool at our disposal” to halt Iran’s push for nuclear weapons.
    • Hillary said that “an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the United States.”
  • Secretary Clinton helped avert all-out war in Gaza by negotiating a cease-fire between Israelis and Palestinians.
  • In the Senate, Hillary was “an outspoken defender of Israel and representative for American Jews,” according to CNN.
    • By 2008, “a number of Jewish Democrats said her record with the community was unprecedented,” according to CNN.
    • Hillary was an early supporter of Israel’s right to build a security barrier.
    • Hillary joined Palestinian Media Watch in exposing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic biases in Palestinian schools.
    • Hillary introduced legislation calling for the immediate release of Israeli soldiers held by Hamas and Hezbollah.
    • Hillary cosponsored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act in 2006 to block foreign assistance to Hamas.
    • Hillary cosponsored the Syrian Accountability Act to pressure Syria to halt support for terrorism in the Middle East.