Former President Jimmy Carter does everyone a service. Though he may be forced to back off eventually, its title tells an important truth rarely heard in American politics.
Freedom Rider -- Jimmy Carter and Israel's Apartheid
by Margaret Kimberley
"Jimmy Carter is one of the few people who can tell Americans why they are so hated in the Arab and Muslim world."
"I've been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa." - Desmond Tutu
"It is wrong to suggest that the Jewish people would support a government in Israel or anywhere else that institutionalizes ethnically based oppression, and Democrats reject that allegation vigorously." - Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi fancies herself to be a mind reader. She claims to know the thoughts of every Jewish person on earth. She simultaneously claims to know the thoughts of every Democrat in the country. The new Speaker of the House has more gifts than anyone could possibly have imagined.
Her declaration of clairvoyant ability came about because of a troublesome book that cannot be ignored. The book is troublesome because it reveals the extent of the human rights violations perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians. The book can't be ignored because the author is a former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. His latest work, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, is making life hard for Pelosi, other politicians and the national media.
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.
Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. When sending email, please remember to replace the (at) with @.
Ms. Kimberley' maintains an edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com. More of her work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive page.
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