HILLARY CLINTON SEEN AS TOP ISRAEL BACKER

Rabbis see Clinton as top Israel backer (JTA)
A plurality of rabbis named U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as the presidential candidate most supportive of Israel.

A synagogue innovation and leadership organization called STAR, Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal, surveyed 200 rabbis of all denominations in its second annual pre-Rosh Hashanah survey.

"Eight in 10 rabbis (82 percent -- unchanged from last year) say they are more inclined to back political candidates who are pro-Israel over those who are not viewed as pro-Israel," the surveyors concluded. "When asked which party is more supportive of Israel, almost half, 49 percent, say there is no difference in parties, 21 percent point to the Republican Party as more supportive, down from 35 percent last year, whereas 16 percent cite the Democratic Party as more supportive of Israel, a slight increase from 14 percent last year."

Asked which candidate is most supportive of Israel, 41 percent said they were unsure. Clinton polled highest, at 22 percent, followed by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican, at 16 percent, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at 3 percent. Clinton also was ranked as most supportive of Jewish causes in America in general with 24 percent, followed again by Giuliani with 10 percent and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) with 3 percent.

Clinton commits on borders, Jerusalem (JTA)
Hillary Clinton committed to an Israel with "defensible borders" and "an undivided Jerusalem as its capital" in her Israel position paper.

"Hillary Clinton believes that Israel's right to exist in safety as a Jewish state, with defensible borders and an undivided Jerusalem as its capital, secure from violence and terrorism, must never be questioned," the Democratic senator from New York and frontrunner for the presidential nomination said in her paper released Monday to JTA.

Those positions come just as Israel is considering a final-status offer to the Palestinians that would include sharing Jerusalem, giving up much of the West Bank and offering land swaps.

In the position paper, Clinton also said the United States should "do everything it can to deny nuclear weapons to Iran" and that "no option can be taken off the table." The paper adds: "Hillary believes that the United States should use every tool in its arsenal -- from imposing economic sanctions to siphoning off funds for Iran's nuclear program to initiating a process of direct engagement with Iran."