American Jewish Congress Bestows Lifetime Achievement Award On Hillary Rodham Clinton

[Purveyor]

NEW YORK — Former U.S. first lady and secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke about the country's longstanding friendship with Israel and the importance of keeping nuclear weapons out of Iran as she accepted a lifetime achievement award from the American Jewish Congress on Wednesday.

Clinton, widely seen as a potential 2016 presidential contender, spoke at the group's gala in Manhattan, introduced by actress Julianna Margulies.

She said the coming months would be "crucial" for the region, both in the attempts to negotiate a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians and in efforts to make sure Iran doesn't acquire nuclear weapons. She said that both goals were vital to the United States' interests.

Clinton, 66, went over her own history, talking about some of the steps she had taken in the peace process while serving as secretary of state for President Barack Obama and steps to increase international pressure on Iran.

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http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/251128831.html

[karynnj]

1. It is a good sign that Hillary is supporting the peace process rather than being more cautious

as she was for the last few years. This really is perhaps the last chance to get a real two state solution. She does seem to go a bit far in claiming:

""I pursued the peace negotiations in large measure because I think the status quo is unsustainable, and I want to do everything I can ... to keep testing, to keep pushing," she said."

Apparently the derision that Kerry faced when he worked to restart the negotiations - when he was contrasted with HRC knowing better that it was impossible are forgotten. However, as I pointed out many times, it is to HRC's good for Obama/Kerry to succeed in any and all endeavors. It is better for her to be able to point to any successes they have as started by her -- and have the luxury of blaming them for any failures since she left.

[Beacool]

2. I just read this week how Hillary was going to have trouble with the Jewish vote.

[karynnj]

3. Do you mean the idiotic CNN article that spoke of Obama getting "just" 69% of the Jewish vote?

This ignores that the Prime Minister of Israel for all real purposes endorsed Romney.

It also ignores that among the few polls of American Jews, 80% back the 2 state solution that the the Obama administration is working hard to achieve. I really do not see any way this can hurt Hillary. Whether it succeeds, it is an Obama administration effort that meets what most American Jews favor.

Not to mention, what alternative could the Republicans suggest? A one state solution that gives everyone equal rights - unlikely to fly in Israel - may be favored by the left, but not the right. However, the alternative, one state (or effectively one state) where only Jews have full rights and some Palestinians (in Gaza and the West Bank) have none, is anathema to everything Americans and liberal Jews believe in.

[Beacool]

4. It was a strange article.

It's almost as if they wrote it to muddy the water just to create news. There used to be a time when news organizations only reported the news, now they create them.

Peace in the Middle East would be a coup for Obama, Kerry and the nation. It would be a win-win for the Democratic nominee in 2016, whether it be Hillary or someone else.

[Sunlei]

5. That's quite an honor from an American group thats been very active from 1918!

Congratulations Mrs. Clinton, "Mazel Tov!"