At Convention, Hillary Clinton Stresses Israel’s Security, Not Quest for Peace

After eight years of on-again, off-again attempts by President Obama’s administration to kickstart a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has put any talk of a peace deal decidedly on the back-burner at this week’s convention.

Indeed, in her own speech, Clinton’s only mention of Israel was bragging that the nuclear deal with Iran would protect Israel, and that she was determined to “keep supporting Israel’s security.” Conspicuously absent from the speech was any mention of the settlements, or indeed of the Palestinians.

It’s perhaps unsurprising, as Clinton’s AIPAC speech back in March similarly focused on the idea of bolstering military ties with Israel, while mentioning the Palestinians primarily as “terrorists,” and giving limited lip-service to the idea of getting a peace deal. Indeed, during the presidential primary Clinton’s opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D – VT) faulted her for not being even-handed enough.

With the Trump campaign similarly distancing itself from Trump’s initial comments about negotiating a fair deal, and vowing to be the most pro-Israel administration ever, the campaign is increasingly looking like it will turn Obama’s intermittent criticism of Israel into a forgotten outlier, and put US elections back on the path of being a race to see who can be a bigger shill for Israel.