\r\n\tAfter months of speculation and anticipation, Hillary Clinton finally announced Sunday she is running for president of the United States.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tWith her experience as first lady, senator and US secretary of state, Clinton has countless hours of meetings with Israeli leaders like Rabin, Peres, Barak, and Netanyahu under her belt; and has also been at the forefront of pro-Israel legislation in the Senate.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tZionist daily Yedioth Ahronoth has reviewed his record in supporting Israel.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tFirst Lady (1993–2001)<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tIn 1999, when Clinton was running for senator, she told Jewish leaders she considers ‘Jerusalem’ (the occupied al-Qods) "the eternal and indivisible capital" of Israel, adding that she will advocate moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to ‘Jerusalem.’<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tIn a letter she wrote at the time, she said that "If I am chosen by New Yorkers to be their senator, or in whatever position I find myself in the years to come, you can be sure that I will be an active, committed advocate for a strong and secure Israel, able to live in peace with its neighbors, with the United States Embassy located in its capital, Jerusalem."<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tHowever, in 1988, when she joined her husband and then President Bill Clinton for a visit in the Gaza Strip, Mrs. Clinton joined Suha Arafat, the widow of Yasser Arafat, for a visit at a kindergarten in the Palestinian territories, where she listened to Arafat openly accuse Israel of fouling the drinking water supply for Palestinians with uranium.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tClinton's official condemnation of Arafat's remarks was made only on the subsequent day, prompting the left-wing in Israel to accuse her of support of the Palestinians.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tUS senator (2001–2009)<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tClinton visited Israel again in 2005, this time as a senator. During a trip to the West Bank, she voiced her support of Israel's separation barrier, saying: "This is not against the Palestinian people. This is against the terrorists. The Palestinian people have to help to prevent terrorism. They have to change the attitudes about terrorism. "<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tIn 2006, Clinton spoke at a pro-Israel rally outside of the United Nations headquarters in New York, and expressed her support for Israel's ‘retaliation’ efforts in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tThe senator condemned Hamas and Hezbollah, saying: "We are here to show solidarity and support for Israel. We will stand with Israel, because Israel is standing for American values as well as Israeli ones."<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tClinton also condemned Palestinian textbooks, saying they indoctrinate children towards incitement, and fail to provide them with an education.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"I believe that education is one of the keys to lasting peace in the Middle East. . . there still has not been an adequate repudiation of incitement by the Palestinian Authority. It is even more disturbing that the problem appears to have gotten worse. These textbooks don't give Palestinian children an education, they give them an indoctrination," she said.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tSecretary of State (2009–2013)<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tAfter failing to win the Democratic nomination, losing out to now-President Obama, Clinton was appointed secretary of state, during which time she attempted to restart peace talks and embraced the standard American position towards Israel, but taking a hard-line against settlements.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tNonetheless, Clinton made it clear in 2009 that a halt on settlement construction in the West Bank was not a pre-condition for the resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"There has never been a pre-condition. It's always been an issue within the negotiations," Clinton said about the settlements.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"I want to see both sides as soon as possible begin in negotiations," said Clinton.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"Both president Obama and I are committed to a comprehensive peace agreement."<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tIn 2011, Clinton made comments showing a shift on her stance on Israel's capital when she was senator, warning against American action towards recognizing ‘Jerusalem’ as the capital of Israel, saying that it would jeopardize the so-called ‘peace’ process.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tAlso in 2011, Clinton said that the path to a two-state solution creating a Palestinian state beside Israel runs through ‘Jerusalem’ and Ramallah, not through New York - a reference to the PA's attempt to attain statehood through the UN.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tSpeaking at a news conference at the time, Clinton repeated the US view that the Palestinians should not seek full membership in the United Nations and instead should resume direct talks with the Israelis.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"We need an environment that is conducive to direct negotiations," she said.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"We all know that no matter what happens or doesn't happen at the UN the next day is not going to result the kind of changes the United States wishes to see that will move us toward the two state solution that we strongly support.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tIn 2012, the then Secretary of State reiterated her stance that the Palestinian Authority "took a step in wrong direction" with its UN bid, but also called on Israel to make efforts to advance the PA talks.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"America supports the goal of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel but this week's vote at the UN won't bring the Palestinians any closer to that goal," she said.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tAlso in 2012, Clinton said that "protecting Israel's future is not simply a matter of policy for me, it's personal. I know with all my heart how important it is that our relation goes from strength to strength. I am looking forward to returning to Israel as a private citizen on a commercial plane."<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tClinton sat down for another interview with CNN in 2014 in which she criticized Israel's settlement activity, saying it is her "biggest complaint with the Israeli government."<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\t"I am a strong supporter of Israel, strong supporter of their right to defend themselves. But the continuing settlements which have been denounced by successive American administrations on both sides of the aisle are clearly a terrible signal to send if at the same time you claim you're looking for a two-state solution.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tIn an interview with the Atlantic published in 2014, Clinton offered strong support for Israel and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after Israel drew international condemnation for the mass killings of deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the destruction of thousands of homes during its month of Israeli genocidal war on the besieged territory.<\/p>","content_source":null,"content_url":null,"content_columns":"0","content_date_start":"2015-04-13 14:54:09","content_date_finish":"2015-04-13 14:54:09","content_date_register":"2015-04-13 14:54:09","content_date_last_edit":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","content_show_img":"1","content_show_details":"1","content_show_related_img":"1","content_show_slider":"1","content_show_title_slider":"1","content_comment":"0","content_score":"0","content_recorded":"0","content_confirmed":"1","content_status":"1","content_kind":"0","old_id":"124746","tag_id":null,"tag_word":null,"tag_service":null,"tag_total":null,"tag_soundex":null,"attach_token":"3261469140","attach_date_register":"2015-04-13 14:54:11","attach_id":"127206","attach_file_ext":"jpg","attach_file_header":"image\/jpeg","attach_img_type":"2","attach_img_width":"390","attach_img_height":"250","attach_file_media":"1","attach_show_watermark":"0","score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"visit_count":"254","visit_date_last":"2025-05-10 14:13:06","attach_title":"Clinton's record in supporting Israel","node_title":"Commentaries","ot_node_left_right":"[{\"node_id\":134, \"left\":25, \"right\":26}]"}]]