BILL CLINTON SLAMS ISRAEL’S RUSSIANS INCLUDING SHARANSKY SEE NOTE PLEASE
Yisrael Beitenu, Natan Sharansky heavily criticize claims.
Talkbacks (4)
Russian immigrants in Israel could be one of the main obstacles to achieving
peace with the Palestinians, Bill Clinton told reporters in New York on Tuesday,
according to Foreign Policy magazine.
The former US president reportedly said that children of immigrants who serve in
the IDF have difficulties imagining any division of land that may in the future
be part of a peace agreement.
Clinton highlighted that the large numbers of Russian immigrants and settlers
serving in the IDF could make it difficult for the army to confront settlers if
this was required and feared this could cause problems in the future, according
to the report.
The people who are most opposed to dividing the land are the settlers and the
Russians, the former president noted, and an increasing number of people serving
in the army are children of these groups.
According to the report Clinton said this poses a serious problem. He also
pointed out that Israel has changed and some 16% of Israelis now speak Russian.
Clinton said that Russian immigrants are among the people in Israel that are
least interested in reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed regret on Wednesday over comments
made by Clinton.
“As an old friend of Israel, Clinton must know that immigrants from the former
Soviet Union have made a huge contribution to the strengthening and development
of Israel and the IDF,” said Netanyahu.
Clinton criticizes Sharansky, Sharansky refutes claims
The magazine claimed that Clinton talked about a conversation that he had with
Natan Sharansky, who, according to Clinton, was the only Israeli minister to
reject the comprehensive peace agreement Clinton proposed at the Camp David
Summit in 2000.
“I said, ‘Natan, what is the deal [about not supporting the peace deal],'”
Clinton was quoted as saying. “He said, ‘I can’t vote for this, I’m Russian… I
come from one of the biggest countries in the world to one of the smallest. You
want me to cut it in half. No, thank you.'”
Sharansky, The Jewish Agency chairman denied Wednesday that the alleged
coversation ever took place. “A report of President Clinton’s comments has been
brought to my attention which I hope is inaccurate.”
“However, as to the basic facts, I was never at Camp David and never had the
opportunity to discuss the negotiations there with President Clinton,” said
Sharansky.
Yisrael Beitenu say Clinton made “crude generalizations”
Yisrael Beitenu, a party comprised mainly of Russian immigrants, condemned
Clinton’s comments claiming that Clinton made “crude generalizations.”
“It seems that Clinton has forgotten that it was the [former] chairman of the
Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat who refused to Clinton’s peace offer, which
included unbearable concessions on the part of Israel,” said a statement
released by the party.
The statement also said that “the people of Israel are one, and the Russian
immigrants, as the other citizens of Israel, yearn for true peace based on
recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.”
Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver from Yisrael Beiteinu, said that any
attempts from outside to create divides among the Israeli society is wrong.
“The immigrants of Russia contributed to the development of the state of Israel
in every field, including science, culture, sports, economy and defense. This
year, the entire country is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Russian
aliyah. This shows that the Israeli people are united,” said Landver.
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