Obama, who has all but washed his hands of an Israeli leader he finds overbearing, Israeli officials and observers said in interviews here.” [Washington Post, 3/1/15] SECRETARY CLINTON HAS LONG-STANDING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH ISRAELI LEADERS Foreign Policy’s Aaron David Miller: Secretary Clinton “Has Long-Standing Ties To A Wide Range Of Israeli Personalities.” “To put it simply, as a more conventional politician, Hillary is good on Israel and relates to the country in a way this president doesn’t. She visited the country for the first time in 1981 and has been as frequent visitor ever since; she has long-standing ties to a wide range of Israeli personalities and has incorporated all of the tropes from Leon Uris’s novel Exodus, including making the desert bloom, etc., into her vocabulary. Unlike Obama, who was not quite 6 years old at the time of the 1967 war (the seminal event that mobilized both the non-Jewish and Jewish communities in support of Israel), Hillary is from a different generation and functioned in a political world in which being good on Israel was both mandatory and smart.” [Aaron David Miller, Foreign Policy, 11/10/14] Foreign Policy’s Aaron David Miller: “Hillary Has Formed Close Relationships With Israelis,” Such As The Family Of Assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. “Then there’s the reality that unlike Barack Obama, Hillary has formed close relationships with Israelis. These aren’t instrumental ties of convenience either. Like her husband who was shattered by Rabin’s murder, she grieved personally too. And her friendship with Rabin’s wife Leah was among the strongest. I accompanied her to Mrs. Rabin funeral in 2000 and observed how deeply she was affected by Leah’s passing, which along with Rabin’s murder reflected a consequential moment in the Clinton presidency. Rabin, Yasser Arafat (the most frequent visitor to the Oval Office in 2000), and the Oslo process gave a young president with little experience in foreign policy a brief brush with history and the larger-than-life personalities that can drive it. Hillary had a front-row seat. And I believe the tragedy and unfulfilled promise of it all touched her deeply. She has empathy for the Palestinians too, a fact that got her into trouble in 1998 when in a message to the Seeds of Peace organization she endorsed Palestinian statehood before it was fashionable in U.S. policy. But her real affinity lies with the Israelis. Indeed, like Bill Clinton, the Israelis frustrate her. But she has bought off on the idea that unless you can get Israeli buy-in, there just won’t be a deal. And that means being tough at times but very reassuring most of the time. Vinegar is useful, but honey more so.” [Aaron David Miller, Foreign Policy, 11/10/14] CLINTON HAS SHOWN HER ABILITY TO WORK WITH NETANYAHU IN THE PAST Washington Post: The Relationship Between Secretary Clinton And Netanyahu Was Built On A Shared Sense That Each Can Do Business With The Other…[And] Did Not Seem To Suffer From The Rougher Patches During Clinton’s Tenure As Secretary Of State.” “Clinton’s tough line with Netanyahu was born of a two--decades-old acquaintance built on wary respect and a shared sense that each can do business with the other. Their relationship did not seem to suffer from the rougher patches during Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, officials said. Clinton and Netanyahu made a point of showing no hard feelings when Clinton visited Israel just two months after the March 2010 settlement debacle and telephonic dressing-down.” [Washington Post, 3/1/15] Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Said He Knew Secretary Clinton Understood “That Israel Will Have To Take Whatever Action Is Necessary To Defend Its People.” “I’m sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people. This is something that I don’t have to explain to Americans. I know that you, President Obama, and the American people understand that perfectly well.” [Al Jazeera English, YouTube, 11/20/12] Washington Post: Secretary Clinton Praised Netanyahu “Publicly For Taking ‘Unprecedented’ Steps Toward Peace, Defended Israeli Military Action In The Gaza Strip In 2012 And Nudged Netanyahu Into A Cease-Fire With Old-Fashioned Shuttle Diplomacy.” “She also praised him publicly for taking ‘unprecedented’ steps toward peace, defended Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip in 2012 and nudged Netanyahu into a cease-fire with old-fashioned shuttle diplomacy.” [Washington Post, 3/1/15]