Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Hillary Clinton, Darling of Jewish Left, former NY Senator, now cops out on Israel

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, criticizing her response to a strong and principled letter she received from Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), in which she both whitewashes and ignores the Abbas/Fatah Conference’s rejection of a final peace settlement with Israel. She continued support for terrorism, praising of terrorists and suicide bombers and the embracing of Iran by the by Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party at its Bethlehem conference, which had prompted Senator Specter to write to her.

Secretary Clinton wrongly claims in her response to Senator Specter that the Conference showed “a broad consensus supporting President Abbas, negotiations with Israel, and the two-state solution.” In fact, as the ZOA documented at the time, the August 2009 Fatah Conference reaffirmed Fatah’s refusal to accept Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, glorified terrorists living and dead by name, praised the “armed struggle,” insisted on the so-called ‘right of return,’ and rejected an end of claims in any future peace agreement with Israel.

Senator Specter wrote earlier this month to Secretary Clinton, saying that he was “deeply concerned” with reports of extremism and glorification of terror, including the featuring at the Conference of “posters of children brandishing weapons. Senior Fatah officials routinely referenced and glorified perpetrators of terrorism; and perhaps most discouraging …leaders addressing the audience continuously championed the notion that Palestinians maintain the right to commit violence against Israel.

It is my understanding that the platform Fatah adopted at the Conference includes calls for increased international pressure on Israel and opposes any normalization of relations between Israel and Arab States.” Referring to the $800 million in U.S. aid to the PA, Senator Specter urged Secretary Clinton that “This support ought to be predicated on at least some level of assurance that the beneficiaries are committed to long-term peace.” He also urged her to “communicate disappointment to your counterparts in the Palestinian Authority and advise them that the Conference and similar events are counterproductive and will not be tolerated.”

Mort Klein, President of the Zionist Org. of America reminded Senator Clinton, “As Senator, you distinguished yourself by pointing to the poisonous and vile incitement to hatred and murder that permeates the Palestinian Authority. You even said that such incitement would have ‘dire consequences for peace for generations to come’ and that ‘It is clear that the Palestinian Authority, as we see on PA TV, is complicit’ in terrorist attacks and that we should condition U.S. aid to the PA on a ‘cessation of Palestinian propaganda and hateful rhetoric.

Yet, to our dismay, we find now that you are not only neglecting to recognize the clear extremism of the Fatah Conference and its platform but, actually praising it for its commitment to peace and rebutting Senator Specter’s urgings to condition funding to the Palestinian Authority on it upholding a truly moderate and peaceful approach. We strongly urge you to review this vital matter. It would be a terrible, avoidable tragedy if further U.S. funds go to support an unreconstructed regime that encourages terrorism and engages in incitement and if the Obama Administration fails to take the necessary steps to urge an end to this behavior as you yourself once urged.”

http://www.israel-commentary.org/

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