Hillary Clinton: Israel has ‘the worst PR,’ is losing young Americans

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the divide in the US on Israel is generational, not partisan, with younger Americans shifting away from the Jewish state in droves – in part due to social media.

By World Israel News Staff

Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton warned Israel that it has the “worst” public relations apparatus she has ever encountered, lamenting that the Jewish state’s failure to better present itself to Americans has led to a “generational” divide in the US on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

On Tuesday, the former New York senator addressed the Israel Hayom Conference in New York, discussing the radicalization among a large segment of America’s youth and growing hostility toward Israel among a generation of Americans who rely primarily on social media for the news.

While polls have consistently shown Democrats as a group becoming less supportive of Israel compared to Republicans, Clinton denied that the split is primarily partisan, arguing that age is the determining factor.

“It’s not Republican versus Democrat. This is generational,” Clinton said, adding that falsified materials spread on social media, including “made-up videos,” were hurting American support for Israel among young Americans, 50% of whom get their news from social media.

The expanded use of social media for news and the rise of sophisticated deep-fakes and other false material spread on social media also threatens American democracy, Clinton lamented.

“It cuts across Democrats, Republicans, Jewish young Americans, and non-Jewish young Americans. It is a threat to democracy and our way of life. It’s a bigger issue; it’s about how we know what we should know about important issues.”

Clinton also took Israel to task for failing to properly present its case to the American people.

“Israel has the worst PR of any group I have ever known,” Clinton said. “The story that needed to be told is not being told effectively, and I think it is only getting worse now.”

This was not the first time Clinton warned Israel that its public relations efforts were failing. During her appearance Tuesday, Clinton recalled a similar warning she had made to Israeli officials in the 2000s while she was serving as senator.