What Hillary Said in Jerusalem Today

Seems US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was at the Consulate General Jerusalem and spoke with, as she does in every country she visits where there is a diplomatic outpost, the staff and families of the Embassy Tel Aviv and Consulate General Jerusalem

A bit of what she said:

Thank you so much. You all are great, a great sight to see. And I am so happy I have this chance to come and thank you personally for everything you do...And I want to thank everyone who brought these young people out to see me. I’m very glad to have that opportunity. And I’m so delighted to be here with Dan and Julie. I got to work with Dan when he was in the White House, and it’s wonderful to see him in action here in Israel.

But mostly I wanted to say thank you to all of you for the work that you do every single day here in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv supporting the extraordinarily important ties between the United States and Israel, working with the Palestinian Authority on so many of the issues that are critically important, assisting a huge number of Americans who visit this area, and of course, continuing our commitment as we seek to support a lasting peace. You are working at the forefront of one of our most important and challenging diplomatic efforts. Here in the Consulate General you are assisting with development and security, helping to build the infrastructure for a future Palestinian state...

...Now, I’m told that the 4^th of July party was a great example of the way that you can bring people together from every walk of life – Americans, Israelis, Palestinians, Christians, Muslims, Jews, you name it. Everybody was here. [I wasn't - YM] And I am very pleased that the diversity of experiences and ideas you bring to work every day is helping us navigate the challenges we face.

But she does have a sense of humor:

I also want to thank the family members who are here. Now, I do love Jerusalem so it’s not like I’m saying that this is a hardship post, because it certainly is challenging but it’s also an extraordinary opportunity. Yet nevertheless I know that you have all to make sacrifices in order to serve in our overseas missions and in one that has as complex an agenda as this does. And you’re not as close to the beach as our mission in Tel Aviv is – (laughter) – so you get the beauty of Jerusalem but without the beach time, so I suppose that’s a fair tradeoff, more or less.

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