Expressing concern that President Bush may have caused “permanent damage” to the U.S.-Israel relationship, Bill Clinton vowed this week to get it back on track if he is elected president of the United States.
The Arkansas governor, campaigning here for the Democratic nomination, said he would accomplish that by demonstrating “a moral and strategic commitment to the only democracy in the Middle East.”
Clinton outlined his presidential vision to more than 50 Jewish communal leaders and political activists at a breakfast meeting here Tuesday, a week before the Pennsylvania primary.
But the questions asked him had more to do with domestic than foreign policies.
It was at an interview afterward that the Democratic front-runner expanded on his views of Israel and the Middle East. He supported guaranteeing the $10 billion in loans sought by Israel and stressed his commitment to the peace process.
He also expressed reservations — though not total opposition — about the proposed sale of F-15 jet fighters to Saudi Arabia.
Clinton reiterated his position that Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip present “a problem for the peace process.” And he said he has no intention of changing U.S. opposition to their expansion.
But he added that the issue is something “to be resolved by the parties in the Middle East, in the context of other issues like the boycott of Israel, Arab non-recognition and militarization.”
Clinton criticized Bush for linking the settlement issue to loan guarantees. The guarantees “never should have been tied to settlements and the peace process,” the candidate declared.
He said he supported them because of America’s longstanding commitment to the freedom and absorption of Soviet Jews and because there is no reason for the United States not to provide unconditional loan guarantees to Israel, as it has to 60 other countries, including Iraq.
OPPOSES SCHOOL PRAYER AMENDMENT
Clinton said he applauded the Bush administration for convening the Middle East peace talks and would do “whatever it takes to keep (them) going.”
Although he said he believes most of the issues need to be resolved by negotiations, he opposed an independent Palestinian state.
But he said he would support “whatever agreements can be reached” to improve “living conditions for the Palestinians and give them some measure of control over their own destiny.”
The Arkansas governor, who calls himself a “committed internationalist,” said America’s need “to put the American people first” is not “an option to withdraw from the world.”
He expressed “absolute support” for the annual $3 billion in U.S. economic and military grants to Israel.
Speaking of the impact the end of the Cold War will have on the Middle East, Clinton said, “If our interest is in promoting democracy, demilitarization and open trade, our strategic relationship with Israel — quite apart from our moral commitment — is just as important, if not more important, than it was before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“At least the Soviets had the capacity to keep some of the Arab countries in line. That no longer exists,” he explained.
On the domestic front, Clinton expressed his support for abortion rights, including federal funding for abortions for poor women. According to a campaign staffer, the candidate does support requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortions.
On church-state issues, he opposes a constitutional amendment allowing school prayer. “States should have no rule mandating school prayer,” he said.
Silent meditation is permissible today, he pointed out, “but once you get much beyond that, you get into choosing one person’s religion over another, which is something we can’t do.”
On the question of school vouchers, a controversial issue in Pennsylvania, Clinton said he supports vouchers or choice that would allow a parent to choose any public school for a child, but not a private school.
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