Jewish Groups Pressure Clinton on Nominee
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WASHINGTON — Some Jewish groups are urging President Clinton to withdraw Strobe Talbott as his nominee for the No. 2 spot at the State Department, citing what they say are his anti-Israel writings when he was a Time magazine reporter.
Talbott will face tough questions on his Mideast views at confirmation hearings beginning Tuesday, sources on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said.
Talbott, the State Department’s senior adviser on Russia and Clinton’s friend since they were roommates at Oxford as Rhodes scholars 25 years ago, has generally won high marks for his work in shaping the Administration’s Russian policy.
If confirmed as deputy secretary of state, he would replace Clifton Wharton Jr., who resigned after only eight months in office.
Morton A. Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said Clinton should withdraw the nomination because “he has, over many years, demonstrated a lack of understanding of the threats that Israel faces, and tends to view Israel as the prime source of most problems in the Middle East.”
The National Jewish Coalition, which has ties to the Republican Party, also called for Clinton to withdraw Talbott’s name.
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