While speaking out for the proposed nuclear deal with Iran, Hillary Clinton tried to reassure voters who worry about the security implications for Israel.
“Israel has every reason to be alarmed by a regime that both denies its existence and seeks its destruction. I would not support this agreement for one second if I thought it put Israel in greater danger,” she said in her Wednesday speech to the Brookings Institution. “I believe in my core that America and Israel must stand side by side. I will always stand by Israel’s right to defend itself as I always have.”
The former secretary of state also cautioned that while a nuclear Iran is extremely dangerous, an unarmed Iran is also capable of mass destruction, and even today “we still see Iran’s fingerprints on nearly every conflict in the Middle East.”
Clinton said that under her leadership the United States will strongly support Israeli military by cracking down on Hezbollah and Hamas and increasing support for Israeli military by selling Israel the “most sophisticated fighter plane ever developed — the F-35” as well as providing Israel with the “strongest possible missile defense system for northern Israel.”
“I believe this deal and a joint strategy of enforcing it makes Israel safer. I say that with humility, I’m not Israeli,” Clinton said. “I know that my saying this deal makes you safer wont alleviate the fears of the Israeli people. But I have supported Israeli security for a very long time.”
Earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Congress to rally against the Iran deal, a move that was poorly received by many Democrats. Clinton has said she would soon meet with the Israeli prime minister in the White House if elected.
Clinton has tried to balance support for the Iran deal and support for Israel on the campaign trail. In July, just days before she formally announced her support for the deal, her campaign released a letter she penned to prominent Jewish donor Haim Saban, saying, “I have made it clear that America will always stand up for Israel — and that’s what I’ll always do as president.”
Jewish voters are heavily Democratic, but there are signs of skepticism about President Obama’s nuclear deal. Clinton is courting this voting bloc for the 2016 election.
Major Jewish organizations such as the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, all disagree with the Iran deal and have spoken out against it. According to a recent poll, 54 percent of Americans jews are “not so confident” or “not confident at all” that the agreement will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and 49 percent believe the deal will make Israel more endangered.
