Bill Clinton visiting Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock in 2010
Unlike Mitt Romney, Bill Clinton actually knows many, many Palestinians – both in the Mideast and in the United States. And unlike Romney, who said that the economic disparities between Palestinians and Israelis are owed to a difference in “culture” (as he pandered to donors on his trip), the former President has frequently offered a very different opinion on this topic. Consider what he said on the subject of Palestinians and progress during a visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last year:
“Ever since I left office, I have tried to stay in touch with my friends in the Palestinian community and continue to press my friends in Israel on the case for peace. It is a different world than it was 10 years ago when we brought the Palestinians and the Israelis together to strike a peace agreement, but then the [underlying] realities have not changed; political realities have not changed.”
Praising the economic progress achieved by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on the West Bank, Clinton continued:
“It is just an example of what would happen for the Palestinian people if they are given a chance to govern. Palestinians are a hard-working and an incredible community. They have done remarkably well outside their country. I have never met a poor Palestinian in the United States; every Palestinian I know is a college professor or a doctor.”
