WikiLeaks: Israel Worried About Clinton’s Friends, Not Clinton

Israelis who look forward to a relaxing of tensions between the U.S. and Israel after the end of the Obama administration may be disappointed, according to emails released by WikiLeaks.

Email correspondence from the Clinton campaign indicate that a Democratic victory, which as of now seems highly likely, will continue the Mideast policies of the Obama White House, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Israeli officials are said to be worried that such will be the case. Former U.S. diplomat Stuart Eizenstat wrote that an Israeli official very close to Netanyahu told him that he “wonders if a Clinton administration ‘will be a Saban Forum for four years’ due to ‘the people around her, but not her.’”

“Saban Forum” is a reference to an annual gathering of elite liberals who are hostile to the Netanyahu government.
As for Hillary Clinton herself, Eizenstat said that a “senior Israeli official claimed to him that Netanyahu feels he has a “surprising good relationship” with her and that she is “easy to work with.”

Israeli officials would not comment on the reported emails.

Eizenstat has reportedly been an influential advisor to the Clinton campaign. For example, his recommendation that Clinton endorse the Iran nuclear deal as a “lid” on its nuclear program, but not as a permanent solution, became the Clinton position. With Clinton as secretary of state, the secret negotiations with Iran began, and former Undersecretary Wendy Sherman, the key Iran negotiator, also serves as a top foreign policy adviser to the Clinton campaign.

Eizenstat also suggested that she invite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to early talks at the White House should she win the election.