Carter’s
book tells just a little of the truth about the
occupation of Palestine. The response to this
truth that is freely discussed in every nation on
earth – every nation except this one – has been
ugly and savage. Carter has been called an
anti-Semite, a “Jew hater.” Those are the rote
responses to any criticism of Israel, but rote
responses are a bit problematic when the target is
a former resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“Carter’s
book is troublesome because it reveals the extent
of the human rights violations perpetrated by
Israel against the
Palestinians.”
Jimmy Carter has
managed to achieve what seemed to be impossible. A
former president has written a book, his
21st and a best seller (number
7,
after just two weeks on
the list), that most of the print media have
chosen to ignore. Carter has appeared on the
broadcast and cable networks, NPR and C-Span, but
the New York Times has yet to deem his latest
title worthy of attention.
Carter is to be
commended for addressing the third rail of
American politics, but when pressed even he
equivocates. He claims it is a
“mystery” that the American press
won’t engage in any debate on American policy
towards Israel. Carter knows as well as anyone
that there is no mystery at
all.
American
supporters of Israel, mostly Jews but also neocons
and the Christian right, aren’t shy about flexing
their muscle. They use every means at their
disposal to silence and smear critics of Israel,
even when those critics have the title, Mr.
President.
Israel is that unique issue, one
that causes both Republicans and Democrats to stay
on the straight and narrow. As Democratic
Congressman Henry Waxman put
it, “No
matter which party controls the Congress, the
House and Senate will continue to be
overwhelmingly supportive of Israel, on both sides
of the aisle.”
Congressional Black Caucus members
play by the rules as much as their colleagues do.
John Conyers was so vexed by Carter’s book that he
felt compelled to publicly state his annoyance
with the former president. Conyers said that the
use of the word apartheid in the book’s title “. .
. does not serve the cause of peace and the use of
it against the Jewish people in particular, who
have been victims of the worst kind of
discrimination, discrimination resulting in death,
is offensive and wrong.” So great was
Conyers’
angst that he even called
Carter and asked him to change the book’s
title.
While Jimmy Carter has to put up
with being called a bigot, Israeli bigots and
advocates of ethnic cleansing get
the
red
carpet
treatment in the United States.
Avigdor Lieberman was born in the former Soviet
Union. Because he is Jewish, Israeli law allowed
him to have full citizenship rights that
Palestinians do not. Lieberman is now in Israel’s
cabinet with the newly created title of Minister
of Strategic Threats, and quite openly calls for
the assassination of Hamas officials, the
expulsion of Israeli Arabs and the murder of
Palestinian prisoners.
“Black Caucus members
play by the rules on Israel as much as their
colleagues do.”
Despite his hateful rhetoric,
another former president, Bill Clinton, and a
presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, have no
fear of giving Lieberman the royal welcome to the
United States. They planned to join Lieberman at a
Brookings
Institution conference entitled, America and
Israel: Confronting a Middle East in Turmoil. The
conference was private, and no Arabs were invited,
just the Israelis who want to kill them and
Americans who know the rules of getting and
staying in
power.
While Americans grasp at straws to
find out a tiny bit of what they ought to know
about Israel, the rest of the world takes up the
slack. Desmond Tutu plans to lead a United Nations
delegation to investigate the killing of Gaza
civilians by Israeli shells. The Israeli
government has not yet
given
permission for the trip to take
place at all. Tutu may be better off waiting for
Godot than waiting for Israel to air its dirty
laundry.
Americans also have a long wait
ahead of them. Our security depends on the
willingness of former presidents and others who
can’t be ignored, to take on the heat generated
from AIPAC and its right wing friends. Jimmy
Carter was and is far from progressive, but right
now he is one of the few people who can tell
Americans why they are so hated in the Arab and
Muslim world. It is high time that Pelosi heard
from someone other than Democratic party fund
raisers. Three cheers for the peanut farmer from
Plains,
Georgia.
