Hillary Clinton makes like Willie Sutton

Alternet reports on Hillary Clinton raking in the cash:

Former Secretary of State, and presumed 2016 presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton spoke at two separate Goldman Sachs events in the past week (on October 24, and then again on October 29), for a cool $200,000 per speech, her normal fee according to Politico and the New York Times. $400,000—not a bad payday for the former First Lady..

According to Politico, which covered the event, Clinton conducted a question-and-answer session with Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein…

The two speaking engagements follow Clinton’s visits to private-equity firms KKR this past July, and the Carlyle Group just last month. At KKR’s annual investor meeting in California, Clinton was on hand to answers questions from Harry Kravis, the film’s co-founder, on the subjects of the Middle East, Washington, and politics. At the Carlyle Group, Clinton is said to have made a speech to shareholders that was moderated by the group’s founder David Rubenstein..

I have no idea whether Rubenstein, Kravis and Blankfein are Israel supporters. But the matter speaks to fundamental issues involving the sociology of Israel policy. A majority of the money raised on the Democratic side is from Jews; and Jewish life is overwhelmingly pro-Israel. “We Are One! American Jewry and Israel,” was the title of Zionist historian Melvin Urofsky’s book on the relationship; and most American Jewish organizations exist now to affirm that identity. President Obama depended on Jewish support to start his campaign; he recently described three wealthy Chicago Jews, “supporters of mine from the get-go” as his Chicago “cabal:” Bettylu Saltzman, Joan Harris and Judy Gaynor. All are J Street supporters, liberal Zionists. His dependence on more conservative Jewish donors is the reason that Obama was “absolutely livid” when the Democratic platform failed to state that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel last year. Their party’s dependence on these donors is also the reason why Obama consults “a small coterie” of conservative Jews about his Iran policy and Ambassador Power salutes the ADL (even as it rebukes John Kerry and smears the names of several good groups, including JVP and Code Pink).

Presumably some of these donors’ children do not believe in the need to support a Jewish state halfway around the world in case things get too hot in the U.S. for us; but it is crucial that this conversation begin openly inside American Jewish life. So that political diversity is encouraged and not suppressed, in an era of historical Jewish achievement.

Update: Today Haaretz headlines a story, “U.S. Jews declare 60-day moratorium on campaign for tougher Iran sanctions.” When the US Jews are four leaders of conservative Zionist organizations. All US Jews must ask whether these people represent them, but also, when leading Jewish newspapers are making this snyecdoche– Jews=Zionists–who are we to object when Chuck Hagel speaks of the Jewish lobby? Haaretz has since changed the headline.