On Sunday, Senator Bernie Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press”:
“We’ve talked to people like Jim Zogby, talked to the people on J Street to get a broad perspective of the Middle East.”
J Street, of course, believes Israel should be much more trusting of the Palestinians and make substantial unilateral concessions to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. James Zogby’s Arab American Institute, meanwhile, has frequently criticized Israeli policy.
Heretofore, aside from some vague comments concerning his pleasant experiences decades ago on an Israeli kibbutz noted for its socialist ideals, Mr. Sanders has largely been silent on the Mideast. But his comments on “Meet the Press” suggest it may be prudent for those who care about Israel to pay closer attention to the Mideast positions of Sen. Sanders and Hillary Clinton before the presidential primary season gets much further along.
Mrs. Clinton has a decidedly mixed record in that regard. While she was still first lady, she roiled supporters of Israel with her infamous buss of Mrs. Yasir Arafat immediately following the latter’s accusations that Israel was using poison gas to murder Palestinian children.
She later tried to explain the embrace away by claiming she had not fully comprehended what Mrs. Arafat’s translator had said.
For years before her 2000 campaign for the U.S. Senate, Mrs. Clinton was an outspoken supporter of a Palestinian state. When she became a senator – with a large measure of Jewish support – she spoke of the need for concessions on the parts of Israel and the Palestinians but also talked about Jerusalem as the undivided Israeli capital. Overall her record on the Middle East while she served in the Senate was reasonably good on Israel.
But then during her tenure as secretary of state she closely tracked the policies of President Obama and was sharply critical of Israeli policies, particularly with regard to settlements.
Given her up and down track record, what her posture toward Israel would be as president should be a matter of concern to all of us.
It is also noteworthy that Israel and the Middle East have not garnered significant attention on the Republican side either. Except for Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to relocating the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and occasional strong pro-Israel statements from Senators Cruz and Rubio, the issue has hardly been broached.
Although President Obama has substantially increased U.S. arms support for Israel’s defense efforts, his attitude toward Prime Minister Netanyahu has been painful to behold. The next president’s views on Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship will be crucial and we should scrutinize the candidates’ statements and past actions as closely as possible.