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Thursday, February 22, 2007
Jimmy Carter's Bonfire of the Vanities
I have read many
criticisms of Carter's book that accuses Israel of apartheid. Some have
pointed out that even though he said he wrote the book to
promote/provoke discussion, he steadfastly refuses to discuss the book
in public with those who are experts, like Alan Dershowitz.
Here, though, is t
he very best substantive criticism of Carter's book I have read so far, with the title I used for this posting [h/t to Judith]. Excerpts:
Carter argues that because Israel has built a security
barrier between Israel and the occupied West Bank, this amounts to
building an “apartheid wall” to subjugate the Palestinians.
Carter totally ignores the fact that the barrier does not separate Jews
from Arabs, and that Israel does not practise racial segregation. There
are 1.4 million Arabs living in Israel, where they enjoy full political
rights – there are 13 Arabs in the Knesset, one in the current cabinet,
and one on the Supreme Court bench. Is this apartheid?
In fact the West Bank barrier was built only as a measure of last
resort to stem the wave of homicidal bombings directed at Israel from
the Palestinian territories. If there had been no campaign of bombings,
there would be no barrier. Carter rails against the “apartheid wall,”
but calls the suicide bombings “unfortunate for the peace process.”
Describing the calculated murder of over a thousand Israeli civilians
by suicide bombers as “unfortunate,” while comparing Israel’s defensive
measures against this campaign as “apartheid,” shows a serious moral
blindness, not to mention complete lack of sympathy for Israel and its
people.
... [T]he fundamental fact which Carter ignores is that the
Palestinian leadership, backed by Syria and Iran, still aims to destroy
the state of Israel . [emphasis added]
Posted by EclectEcon on February 22, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
Could we say that Carter is a moron?
Posted by: Rémi Houle | 2007-02-22 8:41:01 AM
Whoever wrote this obvously has not read Carter's book, nor has any awareness of the situation in Palestine. The book explicitly emphasizes that in the State of Israel, there are full rights for all. THE BOOK IS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE CONDITIONS IMPOSED BY ISRAEL IN PALESTINE ON PALESTINIANS. The wall/barrier snakes its way deep into Palestinian terriritory. Israel should have built their wall within the Israeli border. UN resolution 242, the "roadmap to peace" and other agreements allude to the 1967 borders as a legitimate border, much more land for Israel than in the original 1947 partition carved out by the U.N. If America builds a wall to keep out Mexicans, would should it be built in Mexico or the United States?
I dont think Carter is "apologizing" for the terrorists - merely pointing out that when you antagonise, demoralise and paint someone into a corner, they usually retaliate. It is human nature. And the Palestinians are indeed human beings. As long as Israel continues this strategy, well, keep doing wat you're doing and you usually get the same results. Making "peace" agreements full of bogus stipulations - we will retreat to our 1967 borders, but keep all the choice settlements and diverted waterways, etc... - is not a legitimate attempt to settle for peace.
Posted by: Matt C | 2007-02-22 9:08:22 AM
Carter only listens to those he wants to listen to. He chooses not to listen to the terrorists who have reformed for peace, like Walid Shoebat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8MEn8W8h1U
Walid was a terrorist. He even had a suicide bomb on his body. He grew up in the disputed territories.
You have to hear what he has to say, see the videos and to see the issue in real context.
Posted by: Lady | 2007-02-22 12:07:53 PM
Maybe people forgot to tell Carter that the photos were not real?
Anyone who followed the fake photos generated by the terrorists last summer, and which were expossed, will really enjoy the following video. I make no apologies for presenting so many videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lM57WpO-ww&mode=related&search=
It is called, "All Your Fakes Are Belong To Us"
The intro is a tad long. The cartoon ends and the fake photos that were used by the terrorists last summer, 2006, follow.
Posted by: Lady | 2007-02-22 2:02:10 PM
Quiet honestly Carter is about as news worthy as the hollywood empty heads along with Gore and the Clintons. Never have figured out why their every fart and burp are announced in the news.
Posted by: Alain | 2007-02-22 2:14:21 PM
Matt C: The 2 main issues are, use of the word "Apartheid" and Carter's fudging of facts (lying) in order to make his point.
He knows full well that the "Apartheid" label will stick to Israel as a whole and it has been in use for some years now by those trying to delegitimise the entire country and have it become a Muslim state. It's a false labelling tactic that is similar to the propaganda techniques used by the Nazis to demonise the Jews.
(I'm just pointing that out to, you know, stimulate debate although I know that I will be shouted down by left lobby groups that try to stifle this important topic.)
Posted by: greenmamba | 2007-02-23 9:45:47 AM
Greenmamba: Are all these people expressing Nazi propaganda also:
Ami Ayalon, the former head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency said: "The things a Palestinian has to endure, simply coming to work in the morning, is a long and continuous nightmare that includes humiliation bordering on despair. Is the option of Jewish democracy with apartheid acceptable? I think not."
Yossi Alpher, a former senior adviser in the Israeli government, once warned that with their unwavering support for Israel's approach to Palestine, neoconservatives in the Bush administration have encouraged Israel to create "an apartheid reality that is the very antithesis of the democratization that they preach for the region."
B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights says: “Israel has established in the Occupied Territories a separation cum discrimination regime, in which it maintains two systems of laws, and a person’s rights are based on his or her national origin. This regime is the only of its kind in the world, and brings to mind dark regimes of the past, such as the Apartheid regime in South Africa.”
Israeli historian Benny Morris observes that Zionists could choose from only two options: "the way of South Africa"--i.e., "the establishment of an apartheid state, with a settler minority lording it over a large, exploited native majority"--or "the way of transfer"--i.e., "you could create a homogeneous Jewish state or at least a state with an overwhelming Jewish majority by moving or transferring all or most of the Arabs out."
The editorial board of Israel's leading newspaper Haaretz, published an editorial in September 2006 which said that "the apartheid regime in the territories remains intact; millions of Palestinians are living without rights, freedom of movement or a livelihood, under the yoke of ongoing Israeli occupation,"
In an article, "Road Map to Grand Apartheid? Ariel Sharon's South African Inspiration,” Israeli researcher Gershom Gorenberg concluded that it is "no accident" that Sharon's plan for the West Bank "bears a striking resemblance to the 'grand apartheid' promoted by the old South African regime." Sharon himself reportedly stated that "the Bantustan model was the most appropriate solution to the conflict."
In a 2002 speech in the United States, South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu referred to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Christians and Muslims as "Israeli apartheid."
Former President South Africa Nelson Mandela in a March 28, 2001 speech said: “As to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, there is an additional factor. The so-called "Palestinian autonomous areas" are bantustans. These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli apartheid system.”
Posted by: Jeff | 2007-02-24 10:28:22 AM
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