Carter defends 'Apartheid' book, says attacks on character hurt
Michael Givel
acknowledging that the word apartheid in the title of his book did not mean
inside Israel and was only intended to provoke debate about human rights
beyond the pre-1967 borders. He also apologized for a passage in his book
suggesting that terrorist acts against Israel was not meant to suggest he
believed such acts should be used as a negotiatnig tactic. He also said he
and his family have been hurt by other allegations such as he is a bigot or
anti-semite. However, this is a rather different story than what Carter was
very recently telling the arab world on Al Jazeera TV, see:
http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1355wmv&ak=null
In that interview Carter stated the following: "Well, I don't really
consider, I wasn't equating the Palestinian missiles with terrorism;"
"Most of the condemnations of my book came from Jewish American
organizations, which think that I believe there is racial segregation inside
Israel;" and "My whole book is written about Palestine and its lands, and
about what is going on against the Palestinian people, which is, in my view,
very similar, and in some cases even worse, than what happened to the blacks
in South Africa." Many questions remain about Carter's true beliefs on this
issue.
Nevertheless, his speech went part of the way toward answering significant
questions surrounding his book. Also, for those who have been out touting
Carter's book as perfect and fair and balanced--take note the author himself
has now even said some errors exist in the book. All of this is important
because perceptions matter and if this Israeli/Palestianian conflict is to
be solved, it will take a clear ackowlegement on all sides that this is a
low level war over land and religion. Right now there is a brutal Israeli
military occupation (with settlements supported by Jewish extremists) also
involving some who have sworn a Jihad and would like to drive the Jews out
of the holyland. Isolating the extremists (and their fellow travelers
outside of Palestine and Israel) on both sides and signing a fair and just
two state peace treaty is the current goal.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/817263.html
Haaretz
Carter defends 'Apartheid' book, says attacks on character hurt By News
Agencies
Jimmy Carter defended his controversial book on Tuesday, telling student
at Brandeis University that his goal was to revive Middle East peace
talks and that attacks on his character had hurt him and his family.
Jewish groups have expressed outrage at "Palestine: Peace Not
Apartheid," arguing that its comparison of Israel's treatment of
Palestinians with South Africa's reviled apartheid system of racial
segregation could undermine perceptions of Israel's legitimacy.
Brandeis, in the Boston suburb of Waltham, is a secular university
founded by American Jewish leaders, and about half of its 5,300 students
are Jewish. The school is named after Louis Brandeis, the first Jew on
the Supreme Court and a robust defender of the right to free speech.
The university originally invited Carter on the condition that he debate
Dershowitz, a critic of the book. But Carter said he would only visit
the campus without conditions. He later accepted an invitation from a
committee of students and faculty to speak without taking part in a
debate.
The former United States president, in his first direct address to
Jewish Americans on his book, said the title referred to human rights in
the Palestinian territories, not in Israel.
He said the word "apartheid" was intended to provoke debate on the
rights of Palestinians, who he said were being treated unfairly by
Israel.
He said he never asserted that Jewish money was controlling the U.S.
media, as some critics have charged, but only that the pro-Israel lobby
was strong.
"I've been hurt and so has my family by some of the reaction," Carter,
who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, told about 1,700 students at the
university.
"I've been through political campaigns for state senator, governor and
president, and I've been stigmatized and condemned by my political
opponents. But this is the first time that I have ever been called a
liar. And a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward, and a plagiarist.
This is hurtful," he said.
"I can take it," he added, joking that he could handle the attacks
because as a former U.S. president he still had Secret Service
protection.
Carter, 82, has been dogged by protests during a promotional tour. In
the book, Carter traces the history of the Middle East from the 19th
century to the present via the Camp David Accords in 1978, a year into
his presidency.
He apologized for a passage that can be interpreted as supporting
suicide bombings as a negotiating tactic, saying it was a "mistake" and
would be removed from future editions.
But he said a full Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories was
crucial for lasting peace.
The event was tightly controlled and closed to the public, preventing
one of Carter's more scathing critics, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, from
openly questioning him.
Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor, wanted to ask Carter why he
had accepted money from Saudi Arabia and why the Carter Center, an
Atlanta-based humanitarian organization, had criticized Israel while not
looking into human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, a student asked those questions.
Carter responded in part by saying all donations were audited with Arab
nations contributing a tiny fraction with most of the money going to
humanitarian programs.
About 60 protesters, detractors and supporters, gathered outside, some
holding Israeli or Palestinian signs and flags.
"We support what Jimmy Carter is saying," said Alan Meyers, 56, a Jewish
doctor from Boston. "We feel that there is not enough attention being
paid to dissenting Jewish voices in the United States."
Nearby, Israeli-American Gilend Ini, 29, handed out fliers identifying
five portions of Carter's book that he said contained falsehoods. "We're
trying to let the public know that much of what he said in his book was
factually incorrect information."
In preparation for Carter's appearance, metal barricades were erected
along the road leading to the athletic center, where Carter was to
speak, and people entering the place had to go through a metal
detector.
But a few hours before the appearance, only about two dozen
demonstrators showed up, and most were carrying signs with a
pro-Palestinian view. Among them: "Closing our eyes to injustice is not
a Jewish value" and "Support Jimmy Carter. End the occupation now."
Carter's book has been criticized by some Jewish leaders as riddled with
inaccuracies and distortions. Some have complained that it appears to
equate South Africa's former apartheid system of racial segregation with
Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
Fifteen questions were selected ahead of time from a list of least 120
by the committee that invited Carter, according to the university.
"The whole idea was that everyone would benefit if there is a more
focused way of getting questions to the president, not having 1,700
people raise their hands to ask questions," said university spokesman
Dennis Nealon.
Critics were particularly frustrated that Dershowitz was not allowed to
debate Carter. "It's puzzling because he said that he wants to have a
discussion of his book and then refused to appear with Professor
Dershowitz," said retired Brandeis history professor Morton Keller.
Gordon Fellman, a sociology professor and a member of the committee that
arranged the visit, said Dershowitz is neither a student nor faculty
member at Brandeis and therefore "he can't get in - and it's not
anti-Dershowitz.
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