Clinton, Familiar With Pitfalls of Mideast Politics, May Face Early Test in Gaza.

When Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for a New York Senate seat nine years ago, she labored to persuade skeptical Jewish voters of her support for Israel, after an incident in which she stood by as the wife of Yasir Arafat delivered an inflammatory attack on Israeli policies. Now, having secured her standing as a friend of Israel, Mrs. Clinton must show a new audience that she can also be a mediator in her next expected role as secretary of state, when her first challenge may well be the renewed violence in Gaza. Given Mrs. Clinton's once troubled history with Arab-Israeli issues, that could be a tricky task. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]