Carter Book Slaps Israel With ‘Apartheid’ Tag,

[razors edge]

Provides Ammo to GOP

http://www.forward.com/articles/carter-book-slaps-israel-with-%e2%80%98apartheid%e2%80%99-tag/

As Republicans step up their efforts to paint Democrats as increasingly hostile toward Israel, former President Jimmy Carter is releasing a book on the Middle East, titled “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

Judging from an advance review manuscript of the new work, published by Simon & Schuster and set for release November 14, Carter places the bulk of the blame on Israel for its continuing conflict with the Palestinians. But critics of the former president probably will be most offended by his use of the word “apartheid” in the book’s title and text.

Israel’s current policy in the territories, Carter writes in the book’s summary, is “a system of apartheid, with two peoples occupying the same land but completely separated from each other, with Israelis totally dominant and suppressing violence by depriving Palestinians of their basic human rights.” In a separate passage in the advance draft, the former president stated that “Israel’s continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land.”

In addition, Carter takes what is being interpreted by some critics as a swipe at the pro-Israel lobby. “Because of powerful political, economic, and religious forces in the United States, Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned or condemned,” the former president writes.

[pooja]

1. Good for him.

[lcordero2]

2. Too bad that it takes one to know one

Because apartheid happens right here in the United States of America.

[razors edge]

3. linky?

[mark414]

5. you don't need a link

just go to any major city and walk outside of downtown

[lcordero2]

7. AMEN!!!

thank you

[lcordero2]

6. Don't need a link

I live right here in NYC. We still have the same old runned down schools with 20 year old textbooks that are falling apart in the Black and Latino neighborhoods. The only white faces are the teachers.

[Ken Burch]

8. They killed MLK and RFK just to keep the bantustans in place.

nt.

[razors edge]

15. You seriously feel the only reason

MLK and RFK were killed was to prop up South African apartheid?

[Chulanowa]

22. I think he's being metaphorical

and calling America's inner cities our own bantustans that the opponents of MLK wanted to "keep in their place"

[Selatius]

24. I believe he was referencing American urban ghettoes and...

comparing them with the living conditions found in the Bantustans of South Africa before the fall of Apartheid.

[Ken Burch]

44. I meant OUR bantustans.

The division between the gated community and "the hood" is pretty much the same thing that evolved in South Africa, with U.S. "anticommunist" support.

And today's GOP is pretty much the moral equivalent of the old National Party in South Africa.

[razors edge]

46. I can see where that representation exists,

Especially with those who find themselves on the lower end of the socio-economic ladder. But I don't agree with the comparison as a whole.

I was raised in the hills of southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and West Virginia, not exactly what one would call a booming economy. Growing up I attended Lawrence counties highest black populated school system and had many black friends including my brothers best friend who lived with us for a year while his family was having problems. That was twenty five years ago and we golfed together the summer before last. We had a family cook-out/ graduation party together as my brothers daughter and his son had just graduated from the same school we attended. I live in Toledo and traveled five hours to attend, and had a damned good time.

My parents had just sold the home and after the get together moved to Sarasota Fla. into one of those gated communities you mention, but I assure you their motives were not to avoid racial interaction, it's just not our style.

They worked hard, made good money and saved a lot of it, then when the kids (and grandkids) where on there own moved to an area they liked and didn't have to mow the grass.

Maybe I'm just a hillbilly who don't know no better, or maybe I'm one who does.

[burythehatchet]

4. BRAVO! That man is a paragon of virtue and wisdom.

[orpupilofnature57]

19. Ditto, Kick & Rant !!!!!!!!!!!

[Alexander]

9. Well, then, he MUST be anti-Semitic.

Wait, what??

:sarcasm:

[Ken Burch]

10. Israel was supposed to be a state built on a foundation of morality

and social justice. It gave all of that up for some reason and turned into just another arrogant right-wing nationalist regime.

No decent human being can still defend the settlements or the Occupation.

As Arlo Guthrie once put it "Children of Abraham, this ain't glory".

[Alexander]

13. Nothing wrong with Israel, just its leaders.

We here at DU should have a vested interest in getting liberals elected everywhere, not just here.

Olmert has been a huge disappointment.

[Ken Burch]

45. And the worst thing is, since Peretz sold out and joined the coalition

then led the slaughter campaign in Lebanon as defense minister(a campaign that didn't even succeed in DEFEATING Hizbollah)there is no credible alternative to Olmert. Scariest of all, that fascist shitbag Netanyahu looks to be making a comeback.

Doesn't seem like there's any hope.

The only real opposition to any of this that I've heard of from their is from Uri Avneri and Gush Shalom, and they're a movement rather than a party. Brave people, but very lonely within their country at this point.

[razors edge]

20. Supposed to be Independent as well.

[Jim Sagle]

11. Carter ain't nuthin' but shit and neither is his book.

[Temporary1]

18. Wa Wa Wee Wah!

To quote Borat.

[Jim Sagle]

38. Borat don't smell that great either.

Dennis Miller, with less talent.

[rockymountaindem]

23. I think that's over the line n.t.

[minkyboodle]

27. right on cue

your one trick pony show really adds so much
to the debate here on DU.

[Jim Sagle]

39. Fuckin' A.

[Alexander]

40. So, what's your beef with Carter?

Got a specific complaint, or are you just talking out your ass?

[Tom Joad]

42. Nothing but profanity. Never hear anything else.

Poster Just filled with hate toward President Carter, no substance expected.

[Tom Joad]

41. Nearly 9,000 posts, just like the above!

[razors edge]

43. We're not worthy?

Those with less than a certain number of posts should just STFU?

Edit: didn't get your meaning the first time, got it now.

[Crunchy Frog]

48. Jimmy Carter RAWWWWWKSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

[Poll_Blind]

50. How progressive! Long-time DU memeber, Jim Sagle, folks!

  He's my vote for the first "Voices of Democratic Underground" introspection piece. Don't go changin' just for us, Jim! :hi:

PB

[Andromeda]

53. ...

:rofl:

[Tesha]

56. When you have a Nobel Peace Prize to match his...

When you have a Nobel Peace Prize to match his,
then your opinion of Carter may carry more weight.

Tesha

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Nawww! Those walls and checpoints are merely decorative.

To attract the tourists and help them avoid the Bantustans.

[BootinUp]

14. I guess I am surprised

sounds a little one sided for a problem that is certainly not one sided.

[orpupilofnature57]

16. The most honest man ever hold the job of president ,a true Christian.

Telling it like it is has always been a political liability he endures, well

[Temporary1]

17. Carter is an amazing man and the best ex-President

It's practically a lynching for any US politician who says anything like this. Carter speaks truth no matter what the costs are. He's a hero.

[Selatius]

21. Gee, I can't wait until this is banished to the Israel/Palestine forum.

God knows we can't talk about a major aspect of US foreign policy: The US support of Israel's colonial occupation of the West Bank.

Could it be that this is helping convince just one more person to turn to a life of terrorism on top of the other crap we do in that region of the world?

[razors edge]

26. I guess I just don't buy into

the whole terrorist meme. help me out here folks.

If I kill 10 people with a bomb I made at home I would be a terrorist,

But if I kill 100 with a smart bomb dropped from a plane I'm a hero?

[orpupilofnature57]

29. Semantics thats all ,good point.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

31. Pilots wear snappier uniforms and have their shoes shined.

And, the politicians and generals that send them to blow up people sit behind big desks and have secretaries.

It's all a matter of style you see.

[Tom Joad]

25. A man with vision and courage. Something that grew since

leaving office.

[Jcrowley]

28. Mr. Carter

speaks the truth here. It's simply a material fact of life, pretty straightforward and easily noticed. The suffering of the Palestinian's is one of the great crimes in the world. There are many citizens of Israel who recognize this and are doing what they can.

K&R

[razors edge]

30. I tend to agree

President Carter has the distinction of brokering the only lasting peace between Israel and any Arab state. No other dealer has even attempted to do so honestly and without reserve.

[Zomby Woof]

32. Another Carter book for my shelf

Thanks for this advance preview. Carter tells like it is. :thumbsup:

[bonito]

33. Carter is telling the truth

Anybody with half a brain knows this, some revealing post here.

[maryallen]

34. More honor and integrity than any man in America ... Go Jimmy!

If the shoe fits, wear it.

[Phrogman]

35. Stones versus tanks.

With "Made in USA" on the turrents

[treestar]

36. LOL, once again, telling the truth is "bad" somehow

[razors edge]

37. Only when it crosses someone's agenda.

Throughout history truth has needed no laws to support it, but lies have.

[razors edge]

47. .

[Hardrada]

49. I will definitely get this book.

We need dispassionate and humane discussion of the Palestinian tragedy.

[geek tragedy]

51. Timing sucks big time. Every Democrat is going to

get hammered with this now.

Should have waited until after the elections.

[Spinoza]

52. A pure canard.

(Once again). Regarding 'Apartheid' you are talking in the case of S. Africa about a state which was entirely based on race, and upon the oppression of one race by another. This was codified in law. The ONLY distinctions under Israeli law between Jews and non-Jews are:

1) Jews may claim immediate citizenship under the 1948 'Law of Return'. Non-Jews may still become Israeli citizens but they must first satisfy a 3 year residency and procedural requirement. All Arabs and their decendants living in Israel as of 1949 were granted Israeli citizenship.
2) Only Jews are subject to a draft in the IDF. Non-Jews may serve in the army as volunteers, but are not drafted.

Of course, as is true of minorities in virtually every other nation including the U.S., there has been discrimination against Arab Israelis by the majority Jewish population. Until recently Arabs could not buy homes in certain Jewish areas just as Jews cannot buy homes in Arab villages. However a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court in 2002 ruled that, in the words of Chief Justice Aharon Barak: "...the principle of equality prohibits the state from distinguishing between its citizens on the basis of religion or nationality.....The Jewish character of the state does not permit Israel to discriminate between its citizens." It is fair to say that Israel, led by its progressive Supreme Court, is making considerable progress in eliminating the vestiges of anti-Arab discrimination that were largely a product of the refusal of the Arab world to accept a Jewish state. It is also fair to say that despite some lingering inequalities there is far less discrimination against minorities in Israel than in any other Middle Eastern nation.

Apartheid South Africa was a nation in which its founding raison d'etre was racist oppression by a tiny minority against a huge majority. The raison d' etre for Israel's founding was as a safe haven for world-wide Jewry because of perennial persecution. This is made clear in the founding document of modern Zionism, "The Jewish State" (Der Judenstatt) written by Theodore Herzl and published in 1896.

"...Vain to seek obscurity. They say the coward, he is creeping into hiding driven by his evil conscience. Vain to go among them and offer them one's hand. They say: why does he take such liberties with his Jewish pushfulness? Vain to keep faith with them as a comrade-in-arms or a fellow citizen. They say: he is Proteus, he can assume any shape or form. Vain to help them strip off the chains of slavery. They say: no doubt he found it profitable. Vain to counteract the poison.....
We are a PEOPLE, ONE people. We have everywhere tried honestly to integrate with the national communities surrounding us and to retain only our faith. We are not permitted to do so. In vain do we exert ourselves to increase the glory of our fatherlands by achievemts in art and science and their wealth by our contributions to commerce. We are denounced as strangers. If only they would leave us in peace. But they will not. THEY WILL NOT.....Over the centuries, over the millenia, everything has been tried. There is only one solution left. The Jewish state must be reborn....."

Israel is a democratic state, created by the United Nations, in which its Arab citizens are full citizens. Respect for the rights of others is an express part of Israel's charter. Calling Israel an 'apartheid' state is a pure canard.

[Andromeda]

54. Virtually no current Democratic leader

supports Jimmy Carter on his view of the I/P situation. He was a weak president and that's one of the reasons he didn't get re-elected. He was completely clueless about how to handle the hostage crisis in the ME and that had a lot to do with his losing.

Carter simply wasn't a strong leader and I don't think he's ever gotten over not winning a second term. He was green with envy when Bill Clinton was re-elected even with all the Republican chicanery and nonsense that followed Clinton around. Now, Bill Clinton is the Democrat everybody listens to---not Jimmy Carter.

The GOP probably will try to use this against the Democrats but I doubt that it will have too much affect. Mainstream Democrats support Israel and greatly outnumber the disgruntled anti-Israel lefties.

[Tom Joad]

55. Most Dem officeholders supported the Iraq war, too. Does

not make it right.
And you can go back in time when most Dem officeholders supported segragation.
And then most supported sending troops to Vietnam, until they finally had to change their tune.

Carter is ahead of his time.

[jonnyblitz]

58. OH PLEASE. DEM leaders know what would happen to them if

they said what they really think on this. EVERYBODY knows what would happen. :eyes:

[Igel]

57. The area has a 1300 year history

of apartheid, by other names of course, and for motivations other than racial. But if you take "apartheid" and strip out the mention of "race" you have most of the second millennium in the area nailed. It's going to take more than 60 years to erase that tradition, I'm afraid. You can squelch it, like you can ban racism, but the tradition lives on.

And it'll take more than a book.