From the Nov. 22 edition of the Israeli daily Ma'ariv, translated for THE SCRAPBOOK by David Wurmser: In a speech to the Israel Policy Forum on Nov. 20, Israel's prime minister, Ehud Barak, tried to help the Clinton administration extricate itself from the embarrassment caused by Suha (Mrs. Yasser) Arafat's remarks in Hillary Clinton's presence, in which she slandered Israel.
Barak emphasized that "Mrs. Clinton has touched the heart of many in our country," and that "she has encouraged efforts for peace in the region." He went out of his way to dismiss the criticism of Hillary Clinton's failure to quickly and forcefully respond to Suha Arafat's accusations against Israel, saying that Mrs. Clinton "should not be blamed because she could not have reacted immediately on the spot."
Upon hearing the news, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani's camp accused Barak of interfering in the Senate race in his attempt to get Hillary off the hook. Ma'ariv reported the following response from Barak's aides: "The criticisms of Giuliani's associates were dismissed by those inside Barak's entourage, who described those statements as mild compared to the pressure exerted on them by senior levels [in the United States] to speak on Hillary's behalf."