Reprinted from Mondoweiss
Hillary Clinton with billionaire Haim Saban at his 70th birthday bash.
(Image by Press TV) Details DMCA
Hillary Clinton wrote a letter to Haim Saban, the biggest giver on the Democratic side, saying that she will be speaking out publicly against BDS, the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign aimed at Israel, and will work "across party lines" to oppose it.
In a two-page letter with a handwritten postscript, released by Saban to the press, Clinton expresses "alarm" at the movement, links anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and the murderous attacks on French Jews, and tells Saban that she first "fell in love" with Israel more than 30 years ago when she and Bill Clinton walked the streets of Jerusalem's Old City. (Sorry, but that's occupied Palestine.) And Israel is a miracle.
"I am also very concerned by attempts to compare Israel with South African apartheid. Israel is a vibrant democracy in a region dominated by autocracy, and it faces existential threats to its survival. Particularly at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise across the world -- especially in Europe -- we need to repudiate forceful efforts to malign and undermine Israel and the Jewish people."
She seeks Saban's thoughts and recommendations about how to engage communities across the country to counter BDS. From Congress to state legislatures, to classrooms and boardrooms, we need to engage all people of good faith to show why BDS is harmful to Palestinians and Israelis. (But every Palestinian I've met is in favor of BDS!)
BDS must be doing something right to be getting this kind of attention. This is all about money; Hillary Clinton needs to raise more than $2 billion, much of it from pro-Israel Jews. Saban just staged a conference in Las Vegas with Sheldon Adelson, the big Republican giver, to come up with ideas to counter BDS. The big idea was millions of dollars.
A few weeks back President Obama also said that anti-Zionism was anti-Semitism. He is presumably supporting Democratic candidates for office.
Clinton says that the Palestinians cannot unilaterally declare a state, and no one can impose a solution on Israel. She brags on her record as a U.S. senator and secretary of state, saying she opposed "dozens of anti-Israel resolutions at the UN." She writes that she supported Israel after the "biased" Goldstone Report.
"Time after time I have made it clear that America will always stand up for Israel -- and that's what I'll always do as President."
Clinton does not care that the Democratic base is deserting her on this issue. She thinks she can push this position through. Coverage of the letter is at Politico and Haaretz.
