Earlier in the day, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke.
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“We need steady hands”, Clinton told AIPAC, referencing the business mogul without naming him.
After days of repeated warnings to its activists not to disrupt Donald Trump, and to treat speakers with respect, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee leadership issued an extraordinary apology on March 22 – but not to the Republican front-runner.
Rabbi Menachem Creditor, a progressive whom AIPAC was highlighting to underscore its outreach to the left, told JTA that he adjusted his remarks on Tuesday morning to address the fallout from Trump’s speech. “If you see bigotry, oppose it. If you see violence, condemn it. If you see a bully, stand up to him”.
But his Democratic rival, front-runner Hillary Clinton had no shortage of praise for Tel Aviv, telling throngs of Israel supporters, “Israel’s security is non-negotiable”.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump favours a non-interventionist foreign policy focused on reducing the U.S. engagement in conflicts overseas while vowing complete support for “our most reliable ally” Israel. Though Ms Clinton did not name Mr Trump by name in her speech on Monday morning, there was little doubt to which candidate she was referring when she described his approach to foreign affairs as “dangerously wrong”.
On Monday, he seemed to change tack. Mrs. Clinton wouldnt even grant to an American born at Jerusalem a passport saying hed been born at Israel and shed voted for the law requiring it.
Trump steered clear of his pledge to keep an open mind in negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, instead bashing the Iran deal, the United Nations, and the Obama administration. Many members roared and leapt to their feet when Trump suggested Obama was “the worst thing to ever happen to Israel”. It’s the only one we’ve got.
If people want to be smart, they should embrace this movement, Trump declared at a news conference, shrugging off passionate resistance to his candidacy from both parties.Im an outsider, Trump said.
Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk. “But I do like different opinions”.
Trump was also in Washington for closed-door talks with a variety of Republicans organised by his top backer in the capital, US Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
Still, while protesters have appeared at most of his recent rallies, Mr. Trump delivered his remarks uninterrupted.
Clinton drew a similar parallel in her remarks, referencing a famous incident of a ship with Jewish refugees being turned away from the U.S.in 1939.
“She will be weak on the military and weak frankly with other countries”, he said. He said that once he becomes president, he will not treat Israel like a second-class citizen. Kasich also targeted the front-runner for what has been widely perceived as a divisive campaign, in which the front-runner has insulted Mexicans, Muslims, women and the disabled.
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“I’m a newcomer to politics but not in backing the Jewish state”, he said. That was her biggest applause line, probably. Clinton didn’t dwell on it for long, but said: “Israelis deserve a secure homeland for the Jewish people”. Josh Rogin, a political analyst and columnist for Bloomberg View, said that Trump looked “awkward” reading from the teleprompter and noted that his speech “doesn’t speak to Trump’s mastery of foreign policy, just his ability to read… and he’s not doing great at that”.
