Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin slammed a Jewish organization in urging former president Bill Clinton to reject a speaking invitation, according to The Daily Caller.
In an email exchange, aide Doug Band said the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) was "begging" for Clinton to hold a speaking engagement there.
Abedin wrote, "u really want to consider sending him in to that crowd?"
Band responded that Clinton was going to speak with wife Hillary about whether he should. Abedin responded that Hillary would agree with her. Band followed up with "go or not go?" and Abedin responded, "No go to AIPAC."
The emails were dated Sept. 10, 2009, and were released by the State Department after the group Citizens United requested them using the Freedom of Information Act.
Hillary Clinton made a speaking appearance at AIPAC in 2010 after the email exchange instead of her husband.
The Daily Caller's report said it was not clear from the emails why Abedin wanted Bill Clinton to skip the appearance, as he addressed the group twice during his presidency.
He praised the Palestinians on his last day as president, in a letter that noted their "resilience and courage." That same day, he released a letter to the people of Israel.
"People and leaders of the region must understand that to seek a peace without compromise is not to seek peace at all," he said.
The Daily Caller said that Abedin's comments stirred controversy among Jewish and non-Jewish leaders.
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said Abedin's comments are "appalling," and "shows hostility toward Jews and Israel in light of the fact that 'that crowd' gives huge ovations to White House speakers. It makes me think about the allegations about her parents and other family members who were associated with the Muslim Brotherhood."
Middle East Forum president Daniel Pipes said, "Abedin's disdainful comment about AIPAC as 'that crowd' could derive from her Muslim or leftist identity — or both."
Former New York district attorney Andrew McCarthy said that Abedin's past raised security concerns.
"During Hillary Clinton's tenure at the State Department, some of us pointed out that Abedin's background raised concerns about Islamist sympathies and unfitness for a security clearance that gave her access to top-secret intelligence," he said.
Abedin grew up in Saudi Arabia and worked for a "staid academic journal," according to The Washington Post. The Post said that her father's ties to a Pakistani charity and her mother's founding of an Islamic aid group led to "associational blame" that tied her family to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Abedin has not disclosed her personal political views, The Daily Caller reported. She was married to former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, who is Jewish, but split with him after he was caught multiple times in sending explicit text messages to other women.
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