JIMMY CARTER'S ANTI-ISRAEL AGENDA
By: Jonathan Feldstein
You don't need to read former President Jimmy Carter's latest book about the Middle East to know what it says. The title, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," says it all.
Nobody will be surprised that this is Carter's latest forum through which to bash Israel. After all, Carter has done so for the better part of the last three decades. And I've witnessed some of these criticisms firsthand.
In the early 1980s, Emory gained international recognition with two major events. The first was the Woodruff gift, which helped to establish one of the largest endowments ever in higher education. The second was the decision by Jimmy Carter to establish his Carter Center at Emory.
One of my early activities when I was a student at Emory in the 1980s was with the now-defunct student newspaper, The Voice. Early on, the Voice's editor published an article in which he described the Carter Center as "Jimmy Carter's Presidency in exile." The editor questioned why, after a single presidential term that was marked by double-digit inflation, an accelerated arms race and the Iran hostage crisis, Emory celebrated Carter's arrival. For expressing his views, the editor was called to the dean's office and told not to embarrass the former president.
After graduating, I participated in an alumni conference titled, "Emory in the World." Carter delivered the keynote address. The event took place just weeks after Carter returned from a trip to the Middle East, during which he visited a number of Arab capitols. News reports about the trip focused on Carter's criticism of Israel. When visiting Jerusalem, Carter made no mention of successive Arab wars against Israel, ongoing Arab terrorism or the Arabs' near universal rejection of the right of Israel to exist. Instead, Carter criticized Israel.
Despite the title of the conference, Carter devoted a huge portion of his speech to berating Israel. His rhetoric was unfitting of a former president and embarrassing to me and many other alumni.
Following his speech, there was time for one question. Instantly, my hand shot into the air, and I was picked. There are some things a person never forgets. My question to Jimmy Carter is one of them.
"President Carter, first I want to thank you for the wonderful memory that I have from this week in 1979 when you, President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin stood together to sign the Camp David Accords. That day changed my life." Carter's smile was wider than the caricatures of him with his face on a peanut.
"But President Carter, as a representative of Emory, is it not disingenuous from an academic perspective to travel throughout the world and suggest that Israel is the sole obstacle to peace in the Middle East?"Carter's smile disappeared as fast as my hand had gone up. As much as I remember my question, I have no idea what his answer was. All I remember is that it was filled with all sorts of anti-Israel rhetoric, and was delivered with anger. Not only did Carter not answer my question, but he showed his true colors to a group of intelligent, educated Emory alumni, who saw Carter for what he is.
Today, Carter's anti-Israel bias is just as strong. Under "Israel and Palestinian Territories" on the Carter Center website, the intended capitol of Palestine is listed as East Jerusalem. The website discusses the demographic and religious makeup of the more than three million residents in these areas. Yet under Israel, there is no capitol. There is no reference to the fact that Israel is nearly 20 percent Arab, nor that all Israelis - Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc - are equal under the law. There isn't a word about Israel's thriving democracy.
Although Carter is proud of his efforts to promote democracy, he irresponsibly places all the blame for the Israel-Palestine conflict on Israel. Carter's rhetoric only serves to embolden those who fight against peace, who oppose democracy and who use terrorism as a means to achieve political goals.
I will not read Carter's new book. I know what it says. I heard it from Carter's mouth, 20 years ago.
Jonathan Feldstein ('87C) is an Emory alumni living in Israel.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
SEE HOW "OPEN MINDED" JIMMY IS TO DEBATE ON HIS "FACTS" ABOUT ISRAEL
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