Hillary Clinton said that as president she would handle disagreements with Israel privately, a rare dig at how President Barack Obama has handled the relationship.
“I think any disputes or disagreements should be handled in a respectfully and preferably private way, so we don’t give any aid and comfort to Israel’s adversaries or drive any wedges between us,” Clinton said in an extensive interview with the editorial board of the Daily News posted online on April 11, eight days ahead of the New York primary.
It was a contrast with Obama, who has said he believes it’s healthy to air in public some differences with allies. Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have clashed repeatedly, most recently over the Iran deal.
Clinton, the front-runner in the bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, has otherwise hewed closely to the policies of Obama, whom she served in his first term as secretary of state.
She said in the interview that, like Obama and others before him, she saw settlement expansion as “not helpful” and that she would continue the policy of maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region.
That same day, former President Bill Clinton stumped for his wife at a Jewish senior care home in the Bronx, where he touted her record on Israel, national security and protecting Social Security, the Daily News reported. — jta