In her acceptance speech at last week’s Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton made reference to HIPPY. What is HIPPY?
Hillary Clinton - Caricature by Donkey Hotey is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. HIPPY stands for Health Insurance Program for Parents and Youth, an Israeli program designed to provide health insurance coverage for low income families, and it was the basis for the CHIP program (Children’s Health Insurance Program) which Hillary spearheaded in the United States following the defeat of her broader universal health care program proposal in 1993.
B. Clinton referred to the Ha’aretz Initiative to Promote Peace through Yiddish, a program developed by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz to bring together various communities within Israel around the common interest in Yiddish language, music, food and culture. She copied this model in promoting State Department initiatives to promote peace and healing in countries which were recovering from civil wars or ethnic strife, such as Afghanistan and Burma. The State Department program funded classes, festivals, films and other events which emphasized the shared history and culture of the politically divided populations of these countries.
C. HIPPY stands for Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, an Israeli program designed to teach low-income parents how they could help their young children begin to learn and prepare for school. This was the basis for a program Hillary spearheaded in Arkansas in 1985 when she was the first lady.
D. HIPPY stands for Hope for Israelis and Palestinians for a Peaceful Year, an initiative of the Obama administration led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2010. The program brought together Israeli and Palestinian children in a summer camp setting, enabling them to recognize the humanity of each community and develop friendships. Sadly, the program was discontinued following the 2014 Gaza conflict.
E. Clinton described HIPPY as the Homeland Initiative to Protect the People of Yisrael, a program she initiated as Secretary of State, which included arms sales and intelligence sharing between the United States and Israel. However, according to internal documents released by Wikileaks, within the Clinton campaign organization this program was actually known as the Hillary Initiative to Pander to the People of Yisrael, a program designed by the campaign to attract Jewish voters by trying to convince them that she actually cares for Israel and really didn't enjoy it when she kissed Suha Arafat.