Opinion | Columnists
Where does Hillary stand on Palestine?
Whatever one may say about President-elect Barack Obama and his cabinet-in-the-making, there is no doubt that he seems to have abandoned, hopefully temporarily, his promises of change and bipartisanship that were front-and-centre themes in his election campaign.
- By George S. Hishmeh, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:02 November 27, 2008
Whatever one may say about President-elect Barack Obama and his cabinet-in-the-making, there is no doubt that he seems to have abandoned, hopefully temporarily, his promises of change and bipartisanship that were front-and-centre themes in his election campaign.
Obviously, the economic meltdown in the US and in other countries, now approaching serious proportions, has deflected his focus as evident in his choice of capable appointees who were mostly aides of former president Bill Clinton.
Topping the list is his bewildering choice of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is expected to be named secretary of state at any moment. True, the former presidential candidate is an engaging and popular person as evidenced in the 18 million Americans who voted for her, but she has a chequered record in her dealings with the Middle East.
Troubling prospect
The former first lady's elevation to a position of power is a troubling prospect and may continue to harm the US relationship with the region. For a start, it may also affect the standing of the internationally popular president-elect, who undoubtedly is investing a lot of his capital in the hope that she would be his loyal partner in restoring the US image abroad - a situation brought about by the Bush administration's incompetence.
A recent case in point has been the astonishing assessment by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who believes that the Palestinians and Israelis currently enjoy "the best atmosphere [between them] since the mid-90s." "I'm very gratified that that has come into place," she told an interviewer recently.
The secretary must be wearing blinkers because she has overlooked the deplorable humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, now subject to a stiff Israeli siege, and the bloody actions of the illegal Israeli colonists in the West Bank, especially in Hebron.
For her part, the independent-minded Clinton is known to shift her positions to suit her immediate goals. A prime example of this occurred when she chose to run for the senate seat in New York and succumbed to the influential American Jewish community that holds sway in that state - a turnaround that dumbfounded some erstwhile supporters.
In a position paper issued last year, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that "Clinton comes not only to praise the Jewish state but to bury doubts that she would be any less vigilant in its protection than the Bush administration."
Clinton, according to the paper, "believes that Israel's right to exist in safety as a Jewish state, with defensible borders and an undivided Jerusalem as its capital, secure from violence and terrorism, must never be questioned".
This despite the fact that the Palestinians insist that the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, inhabited mainly by Palestinian Arabs, must serve as the Palestinian capital once a settlement is reached.
Moreover, a recent poll of 200 rabbis from all of the major Jewish denominations had named Clinton as the presidential candidate most supportive of Israel and Jewish causes.
There were also many other startling remarks, such as her threat during her election campaign to "obliterate" Iran should it attack Israel and her insistence that the US should not negotiate with Hamas, the Palestinian group now in control of the Gaza Strip and which triumphed in the Palestinian national elections.
A headline in the National Review, a conservative magazine, about her statement at a policy conference two years ago at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), read "Senator Israel: Hillary Clinton runs from her past."
The article noted that the "stone-faced" senator had set out to present herself at the Israeli lobby's meeting as "a stalwart supporter of Israel and of America's alliance with Israel." And judging by the reaction of the large audience, the article reported that "she succeeded brilliantly ... Hillary was a huge hit."
However, the article's author, Rachel Zabarkes Friedman, an associate editor of the National Review, questioned what Clinton "really think[s] about the Arab-Israeli conflict."
The author concluded: "The truth is, it's really impossible to know [because] her past tells a very different story from her statements and record as junior senator from New York."
Another pro-Israel website described her pre-senate record as "appalling," presumably because of her supposed sympathy toward the Palestinians, whom she has visited twice, once alongside her husband.
While the American Jewish community now seems convinced that Clinton is in their corner, some Palestinian sympathisers hold on to the hope that, in her new role, Clinton would not feel obligated to appease her former constituency.
Either way, if Clinton is to become US secretary of state, it would be helpful for her to clarify her position on Palestine.
George Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist.
Your comments
As you say, it would be useful for Clinton to clarify her position on Palestine, not as a senator or a former first lady, but as a member and representative of Obama's administration. What could help her in this is if she, and we, were clear on what Obama's stance is likely to be as well.
Ambika
Mumbai,India
Posted: November 27, 2008, 10:41
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