Hillary Clinton has long been the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential race, although her polling numbers have recently fallen significantly. If she’s elected, how would U.S.-Israel relations fare under her watch? The following timeline looks, in reverse chronological order, at her words, policies, and relationships as they relate to Israel over the course of the various stages of her political career.
Secretary of State and 2016 Presidential Candidate
2016
Clinton disagrees with an assertion by Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont and Clinton’s leading rival for the Democratic nomination, that “what we’ve got to do is move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran.” While Clinton expresses that she is “very proud” of the newly implemented nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, she cautions, “We’ve had one good day over 36 years, and I think we need more good days before we move more rapidly – before more normalization.”
2015
In November, Clinton appoints Earl F. Hilliard, a congressman who blamed an election defeat on “Jewish interests” and the “Jewish media,” to her presidential campaign’s Alabama leadership team. Hilliard was considered one of the most vocal opponents of Israel in Congress while he represented Alabama in the House from 1993-2003.
In July, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren comes out with his much-discussed memoir, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. Oren recalls being consistently rebuffed in his attempts to meet with Clinton during her time as secretary of state on the grounds that she “did not receive ambassadors.”
In an op-ed for the Forward, Clinton writes, “I am deeply committed to Israel’s future as a secure and democratic Jewish state, and just as convinced that the only way to guarantee that outcome is through diplomacy. And while no solution can be imposed from outside, I believe the United States has a responsibility to help bring Israelis and Palestinians to the table and to encourage the difficult but necessary decisions that will lead to peace. As president I will never stop working to advance the goal of two states for two peoples living in peace, security, and dignity.”
In March, Clinton says in a phone conversation with Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, that “we need to all work together to return the special U.S.-Israel relationship to constructive footing.” The U.S. and Israel, she says, should “get back to basic shared concerns and interests, including a two-state solution pursued through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians…. We must ensure that Israel never becomes a partisan issue.”
2014
In her new memoir, Hard Choices, Clinton characterizes Israel as an occupying force. “When we…visited Jericho, in the West Bank, I got my first glimpse of life under occupation for Palestinians, who were denied the dignity and self-determination that Americans take for granted,” she writes, recounting a 1981 trip with her husband.
Clinton also writes in the memoir, “In retrospect, our early, hard line on settlements didn’t work,” arguing that the Obama administration’s stance against Israeli settlement construction hardened Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s position.
2012
Speaking at the Saban Forum, Clinton says Israel lacks generosity and empathy in its approach to the Palestinian issue. “So, look, I’m not making excuses for the missed opportunities of the Israelis, or the lack of generosity, the lack of empathy that I think goes hand-in-hand with the suspicion,” she says. “So, yes, there is more that the Israelis need to do to really demonstrate that they do understand the pain of an oppressed people in their minds, and they want to figure out, within the bounds of security and a Jewish democratic state, what can be accomplished.”
