New York, May 14 (RHC)-- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s opposition to the growing anti-Israeli boycott movement signals that she would “lean heavily toward Israel” if she becomes president, says a former counter-terrorism specialist.

The boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, or BDS, against Israel, is a “perfectly legitimate political initiative,” said Philip Giraldi, a former military intelligence officer with the CIA.

The BDS “is a non-violent method to of putting pressure on Israel,” said Giraldi, who now serves as the Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a group that advocates for more even-handed policies by the U.S. government in the Middle East.

As a large Methodist conference is set to convene in Portland, Oregon, with plans to consider the BDS campaign against Israel, Clinton has written a letter denouncing the movement.  Hillary Clinton, a Methodist Christian, has written a letter to leaders of prominent Jewish groups who had expressed their concerns about the BDS movement, which is critical of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.

The BDS campaign against Israel over its apartheid policies toward the Palestinians has gained momentum globally in recent years in its quest to end the Israeli occupation and colonization of Palestine.

BDS activists expect the United Methodist Church, which has nearly eight million members in the U.S., to join the movement this year, underscoring the growing momentum of the U.S. protest movement against Israel.