Jimmy Carter Issues Letter to Jewish Community

The Carter Center We discussed the word "apartheid," which I defined as the forced segregation of two peoples living in the same land, with one of them dominating and persecuting the other.

And which does not apply here. Carter recognizes that Arabs in Israel have rights which are not being interfered with, and Israel sends troops into Gaza only when it is attacked.

I made clear in the book's text and in my response to the rabbis that the system of apartheid in Palestine is not based on racism but the desire of a minority of Israelis for Palestinian land

And the desire of Palestinians for Jewish land, and their attacking Israel on a regular basis, even after Israel withdrew from Gaza.

and the resulting suppression of protests that involve violence.

Firing rockets over a wall or sending homicide bombers to blow themselves up, hoping to kill a few Jews, are not legitimate means of protest. Or are you talking about Hamas killing Fatah when they protest, or Fatah killing Hamas when they protest? The Israelis are not responsible for that.

.... I made it clear that I have never claimed that American Jews control the news media, but reiterated that the overwhelming bias for Israel comes from among Christians like me who have been taught since childhood to honor and protect God's chosen people from among whom came our own savior, Jesus Christ.

And you now turn against them.

An additional factor, especially in the political arena, is the powerful influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is exercising its legitimate goal of explaining the current policies of Israel's government and arousing maximum support in our country. There are no significant countervailing voices.

So you decided to be one? If the Palestinians truly want to talk to Israel, and if peace is more important than killing Jews, I am sure Israel will talk to them.

I am familiar with the extreme acts of violence that have been perpetrated against innocent civilians, and understand the fear among many Israelis that threats against their safety and even their existence as a nation still exist. I reiterated my strong condemnation of any such acts of terrorism.

That is nice.

When asked my proposals for peace in the Middle East, I summarized by calling for Hamas members and all other Palestinians to renounce violence and adopt the same commitment made by the Arab nations in 2002: the full recognition of Israel's right to exist in peace within its legally recognized 1967 borders (to be modified by mutual agreement by land swaps). This would comply with U.N. Resolutions, the official policy of the United States, commitments made at Camp David in 1978 and in Oslo in 1993, and the premises of the International Quartet's "Roadmap for Peace."

And there is not a snowball's chance in hell they will do it.

An immediate step would be the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, now absent for six years. President Mahmoud Abbas is the official spokesman for the Palestinians, as head of the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and has repeatedly called for peace talks. I asked the rabbis to join in an effort to induce the Israeli government to comply with this proposal.

Tell Hamas to accept the idea of living side by side with Israel, in peace.

In addition, I pointed out that the Palestinian people were being deprived of the necessities of life by economic restrictions imposed on them by Israel and the United States because 42% had voted for Hamas candidates in the most recent election.

Why should we send money so that Hamas can use it to buy rockets to shoot at Israel.

Teachers, nurses, policemen, firemen, and other employees are not being paid, and the U.N. has reported that food supplies in Gaza are equivalent to those among the poorest families in sub-Sahara Africa with half the families surviving on one meal a day. My other request was that American Jewish citizens help to alleviate their plight.

The problem is not Israel, it is Hamas, and its supporter, Iran, who wants to see Israel destroyed.