What should I ask Jimmy Carter at book signing?
Tomorrow morning, I will be at the Bookpeople here in Austin to see former President Jimmy Carter at a book signing. This is the write up:
a challenging, provocative, and courageous book...
President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
offers an assessment of what must be done to bring permanent peace to Israel with dignity and justice to Palestine...
President Carter shares his intimate knowledge of the history of the Middle East and his personal experiences with the principal actors...
addresses sensitive political issues many American officials avoid...
pulls no punches...
prescribes steps that must be taken for the two states to share the Holy Land
Some people have not been happy with the book such as Alan Dershowitz:
I like Jimmy Carter. I have known him since he began his run for president in early 1976. I worked hard for his election, and I have admired the work of the Carter Center throughout the world. That's why it troubles me so much that this decent man has written such an indecent book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Click on the text for more of his argument.
His bias against Israel shows by his selection of the book's title: "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid." The suggestion that without peace Israel is an apartheid state analogous to South Africa is simply wrong. The basic evil of South African apartheid, against which I and so many other Jews fought, was the absolute control over a majority of blacks by a small minority of whites. It was the opposite of democracy. In Israel majority rules; it is a vibrant secular democracy, which just today recognized gay marriages performed abroad. Arabs serve in the Knesset, on the Supreme Court and get to vote for their representatives, many of whom strongly oppose Israeli policies. Israel has repeatedly offered to end its occupation of areas it captured in a defensive war in exchange for peace and full recognition. The reality is that other Arab and Muslim nations do in fact practice apartheid. In Jordan, no Jew can be a citizen or own land. The same is true in Saudi Arabia, which has separate roads for Muslims and non-Muslims. Even in the Palestinian authority, the increasing influence of Hamas threatens to create Islamic hegemony over non-Muslims. Arab Christians are leaving in droves.
So if I have a chance to ask Jimmy Carter a question, what would you want/would like me to ask?
posted by Ingrid at
1:55 PM
3 Comments:
Well, you can ask him if he intends to personally attend the conflict, or just prescribe the steps for others.
That Alan D. is deluged.
Of course the principles of statehood might be a sound foundation in Israel, but that is not the topic of December 2006. Reality check please.
What I would ask Carter?
"In your opinion Sir, can the Palestinians ever find peace and a solution as long as they fight each other?"
Simple as that.
Dershowitz has clearly become a right-wing shill. Their MO is to stand for Israel and forgive it's failings and shortcomings, like a Stepford Wife. Just look at all the right wing blogs and their "I Stand For Israel" webstickers. If they're still up, they can be found right next to the Pajamas Media ones, which tells you all you need to know about Israel's most rabid supporters.
Like America, Israel is not perfect. That's what President Carter's opponents need to realize. Personally, I wouldn't ask Carter anything. He has some ideas but let's ask this question amongst ourselves: Does he have the power to implement anything? To bring both sides to an agreement?
If it were me, I wouldn't get worked up over this. I'd just thank him for suggesting the obvious, no matter how unpopular his position is.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home