The Israelis know that if the Iraqi or the Iranian army came across the Jordan River, I would personally grab a rifle, get in a ditch, and fight and die. -- former US President Bill Clinton at a Jewish fund-raising dinner

What Bill won't do for Israel

RICHARD JOHNSON
with PAULA FROELICH and CHRIS WILSON

BILL Clinton's recent vow to "grab a rifle and get in the trench and fight and die" for Israel isn't the first time the former president has gone overboard in pandering to Jewish audiences.

But his office is denying an oft-repeated tale that he once said, "I would do anything for Israel - except get a circumcision."

The one-liner appears to be an urban legend. The tale is told, and retold, though it is impossible to find a witness or nail down where and when the words were allegedly uttered.

Clinton's spokesman, Jim Kennedy, told PAGE SIX: "We've never heard that before."

The ex-prez, meanwhile, isn't the only thwarted warrior in the family. Sen. Hillary Clinton once tried to join the Marines, she recalled in a 1994 interview dredged up yesterday by the conservative NewsMax.com Web site.

It is unclear who conducted the interview, but it was replayed June 15, 1994, by Rush Limbaugh. "Gee, now it was probably 19 years ago - in 1975 - I decided that I was very interested in having some experience in serving in some capacity in the military," said Hillary.

Her husband then interjected helpfully, "Because we all love the military so much."

"So I walked into our local recruiting office, and I think it was just my bad luck that the person who happened to be there on duty could not have been older than 21. He was in perfect physical shape.

"So I sat down and I said, you know, I wanted to explore - I didn't know whether I thought active duty would be a good idea, reserve, you know, maybe National Guard, something along those lines. This young man looked at me and he said, 'How old are you?'

"I said, 'Well, 27' . . . I had these really thick glasses on. He said, 'How bad's your eyesight?' I said, 'It's pretty bad.' And he said, 'How bad?' So I told him. He said, 'That's pretty bad.'

"And he finally said to me, he said, 'You're too old. You can't see. And you're a woman.' And then he went on . . . this man, young man, was a Marine. He said, 'But maybe the dogs [Army] would take you.' "

Hillary recalled thinking, "This is not a very encouraging conversation, so maybe I'll look for another way to serve my country."

And she has. Not only is she a U.S. senator. Political insiders say it's clear she is positioning herself to run for president in 2004.

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