Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has voiced strong support for Israel and a desire to end boycott efforts against the country in a letter to a megadonor and Jewish leaders,
Politico reports.
The July 2 letter is addressed to megadonor Haim Saban and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. It discusses the decade-old Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement (BDS.)
"I know you agree that we need to make countering BDS a priority," Clinton writes as she asks for help working "across party lines" to "fight back against further attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel."
She says the BDS "seeks to punish Israel and dictate how the Israelis and Palestinians should resolve the core issues of their conflict. This is not the path to peace."
The BDS was begun by Palestinian activists with the aim of putting economic pressure on Israel in the Palestinian-Israeli two-state talks.
Clinton says in her letter that she supports the two-state solution, but adds "that outcome can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians — it cannot be imposed from the outside or by unilateral actions."
The letter says Israel should not be compared to South Africa during the days of apartheid.
"Israel is a vibrant democracy in a region dominated by autocracy, and it faces existential threats to its survival," she said. "Particularly at a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise across the world — especially in Europe — we need to repudiate forceful efforts to malign and undermine Israel and the Jewish people."
The former secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York also notes that she is a longtime supporter of Israel.
"Time after time I have made it clear that America will always stand up for Israel — and that’s what I’ll always do as President," she writes.
The letter is written on campaign letterhead, Politico reported, and the version sent to Saban contains the handwritten line, "look forward to working with you on this."
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