ADVERTISEMENT

Clinton Swipes Trump’s Middle East Policy in AIPAC Speech

Defends Iran deal, but calls for ‘distrust and verify’ approach to enforcement

Hillary Clinton
AP
March 21, 2016

Hillary Clinton took aim at Donald Trump’s foreign policy positions in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday.

Although Clinton never mentioned the Republican frontrunner by name, she clearly had Trump in mind when she said America could not elect a leader with "dangerously wrong" views on the Middle East.

"We need steady hands, not a president who says he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who-knows-what on Wednesday, because ‘everything’s negotiable,’" said Clinton. "Well my friends, Israel’s security is non-negotiable."

In a preview of how she will attack Trump during the general election campaign, Clinton also insinuated that the Republican frontrunner was encouraging "white supremacists," and drew comparisons between his stance against Syrian immigrants and America’s refusal to admit many Jewish European refugees before the Holocaust.

"In a democracy, we’re going to have differences, but what Americans are hearing on the campaign trail this year is something else entirely," said Clinton. "Encouraging violence. Playing coy with white supremacists. Calling for 12 million immigrants to be rounded up and deported. Demanding we turn away refugees because of their religion, and proposing a ban on all Muslims entering the United States."

Clinton also reiterated her support for Israel-Palestinian negotiations, her opposition to Israeli settlements, and her approval of President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

"Israelis deserve a secure homeland for the Jewish people," said Clinton. "Palestinians should be able to govern themselves in their own state, in peace and dignity. Only a negotiated two-state agreement can provide those outcomes."

Clinton said she believed that "the United States, Israel, and the world are safer" due to the nuclear deal with Iran.

"But still, as I laid out in a speech at the Brookings Institution last year, it’s not good enough to trust and verify," she said. "Our approach must be distrust and verify."

Clinton also touted her opposition to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign, widely known as the BDS movement, against Israel. The Democratic frontrunner formally came out against the BDS campaign last year—shortly after she backed the Iran deal—in a letter to one of her most prominent donors, pro-Israel philanthropist Haim Saban.

"I’ve been sounding the alarm for a while now," said Clinton. "As I wrote last year in a letter to the heads of major American Jewish organizations, we have to be united in fighting back against BDS."

Trump and Republican candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich are scheduled to speak at the AIPAC conference on Monday evening. Clinton’s primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), declined to appear at the event.