The pin, according to online publication Tablet Magazine, was presumably a gift from either one of two representatives from the National Jewish Democratic Council who were in attendance at the DNC.
"I was at a Clinton/Gore campaign alumni event this afternoon at the Jewish Historical Museum in Philadelphia and gave my old boss the pin," Steve Rabinowitz, a former Clinton White House staffer and NJDC official, told Tablet's Yair Rosenberg.I just want to point out Bill Clinton is wearing a Hebrew "Hillary" (הילרי) pin tonight at the Democratic convention pic.twitter.com/ra4MwCjBEg
— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) July 28, 2016
"He said he’d wear it but I didn’t know whether or not to believe him and certainly didn’t think he’d do it tonight," said Rabinowitz, adding "separately and without either of us knowing it, Marc Stanley [the chairman of the National Jewish Democratic Council] did the same thing tonight when he saw Clinton in the convention hall and Clinton told him he was planning to wear it."
"Don’t know who gets the credit but we’re both happy. It’s NJDC’s pin."
Tension between traditional supporters of the Democratic party and the faction's more liberal wing have periodically flared up over the issue of Israel for the past few months.Before the start of the DNC Monday morning, members of the Democratic platform committee tussled over inserting language referring to Israel's "occupation" and "settlement activity" on Palestinian land.
The committee, made up of members selected by both the Clinton campaign and her chief primary rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, argued contentiously over the issue with Sanders supporters urging the platform to adopt the language. Clinton supporters on the committee eventually succeeded in nixing the controversial references, arguing such statement would further inflame tensions and deter from future US efforts in peace talks.
Platforms are meant to be inspirational, non-binding policy declarations reflecting the will of their party at a given moment in time. But they are also practical documents – messages to voters in an election year.Michael Wilner contributed to this article.