Another Clinton-Jewish Angle

No, not her (gasp!)

The Yeshiva University angle.

The Village Voice has some interesting observations on Hillary Clinton's foray to Yeshiva University.

Here are some excerpts but read the entire piece.

Last month, Yeshiva University presented Hillary Clinton with an honorary degree...

...she improved her standing in the Jewish community. Today, polling data show 72 percent of the state's Jews give the senator high marks, as compared to 62 percent of New Yorkers overall. That's up from the 52 percent of Jews who had a favorable view of Clinton when she first took office. Among Jewish leaders, you'd have to search far and wide to find anyone who claims Clinton isn't a friend of Israel.

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant and observant Jew, says Clinton "has redefined herself for many Jewish voters." Gone is the 1999 image of her Arafat kiss. He adds, "She has been able to reverse it all."


There was a time when Clinton couldn't say anything right. Six years ago, the then candidate was still struggling to emerge from the Suha flap. She condemned Arafat's remarks and blamed her own actions on a faulty translation. But that didn't satisfy a segment of the Jewish community—the most strident Israel supporters.

...Over the past six years, she has rarely missed a chance to demonstrate a commitment to her Jewish constituents. On Israel, she has become a stalwart, boasting a solid record, sticking to the policies of the pro-Israel lobby. The latest example? Pushing the Bush administration to get tough on the nuclear-happy Iran. Last fall, she repudiated Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for demanding Israel be "wiped off the map." When he denied the Holocaust last month, she wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, denouncing his rhetoric as "outrageous" and urging action. Last week, when Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon had a stroke and Ahmadinejad expressed hope that Sharon would not survive, Clinton fired off a statement calling the Iranian president's comments "despicable" and wishing Sharon "a speedy recovery."

...But will her inroads among Jewish leaders translate with the average Jew on the street? In the Orthodox community, Hikind and others say, people still have a gut reaction to the Arafat kiss. And they still cannot understand why she'd be so popular.

I guess you can fool any Jew any time.

He had his maideleh. She's our shiksa.