Hillary Rodham Clinton
Photo: Reuters
Clinton 'alarmed' by BDS attempts to 'isolate and delegitimize Israel'
In letter to Jewish media mogul Haim Saban, Democratic presidential hopeful slams comparisons made between Israel and the apartheid regime in South Africa, saying now is time 'repudiate forceful efforts to malign and undermine Israel'.
WASHINGTON - Leading Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton is "alarmed" by the boycott movement against Israel, she told Jewish media mogul Haim Saban in a letter.
In a letter dated July 2, Clinton seeks Saban's advice on "how we can work together - across party lines and with a diverse array of voices - to reverse this trend with information and advocacy, and fight back against further attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel."
Clinton expressed concerns over comparisons between Israel and the apartheid regime in South Africa, and added that as anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, now is the time "to repudiate forceful efforts to malign and undermine Israel and the Jewish people."
Hillary Rodham Clinton (Photo: AFP)
She wrote that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) "seeks to punish Israel and dictate how the Israelis and Palestinians should resolve the core issues of their conflict," clarifying that "this is not the path to peace."
The former US secretary of state, who led the failed 2010 peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, reiterated her support of the two-state solution, saying "that outcome can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians - it cannot be imposed from the outside or by unilateral actions."
Politico reported on Friday that Clinton has been trying to convince Jewish donors in private conversations that she will be a better friend to Israel than President Barack Obama.
"Diplomacy is all about personal relationships, and I've got my own relationships," Clinton was quoted as saying, referring to her relationships with two of Obama's bigger critics in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren.
