Clinton criticizes Netanyahu in new book: He has taken zero responsibility

Former US Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in her new book for taking "zero responsibility" for the Hamas attack on October 7 of last year.

The book, titled “Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty”, is set for publication in the US on Tuesday. The Guardian obtained an advance copy and published excerpts on Thursday.

“In an important way, Netanyahu is nothing like [Golda] Meir,” Clinton wrote, referring to the Prime Minister during the Yom Kippur War. Clinton expresses admiration for Meir’s leadership style in her book, saying she “mixed humor and gravitas."

“She accepted a commission of inquiry into the failures that led to the Yom Kippur war and resigned from office. Netanyahu, by contrast, has taken zero responsibility and refuses to call an election, let alone step down,” charges the former Secretary of State.

Clinton's criticism of Netanyahu is part of a broader section on her time at Columbia University, where she became a professor of practice at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in 2023.

Columbia, like many US campuses, has witnessed significant anti-Israel protests since October 7, including outside Clinton’s class just last week.

In the book, Clinton addresses her experiences engaging with students on both sides of the conflict, describing a campus "tense with shock and grief".

Clinton writes of encountering “blank stares” when she explained to students that “if [then-Palestinian Authority chairman] Yasser Arafat had accepted the deal offered by my husband in 2000 for a state that the Israeli government was prepared to accept, the Palestinian people would be celebrating their 23rd year of statehood.”

At Columbia, she observed that most protesters were “earnestly heartbroken” by the events of October 7 and their aftermath. However, she also noted that for some, it became “an excuse to chant antisemitic slogans,” including “From the river to the sea.”

Clinton also reiterates her call, first made on MSNBC, for Netanyahu to step down.