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Jimmy Carter's 'Peace' Mission To Brandeis
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<br>Ex-President Still Stands by His Controversial Palestine Book
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<br>Carter did not step back from the word Tuesday. He noted that he and his successors, notably Bill Clinton, have tried and failed to nudge the
<br>Palestinians and Israelis toward a lasting peace. The last six years, he said, have been marked by failure on all sides. The administration of
<br>George W. Bush all but abandoned such efforts, putting the onus on the Palestinians to turn their back on PLO leaders and now the
<br>fundamentalist Islamic Hamas leadership. And the Israelis, too, have all but abandoned negotiation, he said, turning instead to the building of
<br>walls. Carter spoke of Israeli's decision to build barriers and set aside certain highways for Israelis only as creating a "spider web" that
<br>constricts and divides historic Arab lands. The West Bank, he said, has become a place of "Bantustans, isolated cantons," referring to the
<br>territories created for black South Africans under apartheid. He noted that many liberal Israelis, from newspaper journalists to professors
<br>to peace activists, also refer to Israeli policy on the West Bank as apartheid, albeit a policy grounded not in racism but in a religion-based
<br>desire to control land. Israelis "have all used and explained the word 'apartheid' in much harsher words than mine," Carter said.
<br>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301668.html?referrer=email
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<br>Carter wins applause at Brandeis
<br>Defends stance on Palestinians; critic speaks later
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<br>WALTHAM -- Jimmy Carter, in a carefully orchestrated visit, received multiple ovations last night during his speech at Brandeis University. Loud applause
<br>greeted his rebuttal of critics who have called him an anti-Semite because of his views on Israel. The 82-year-old former president, whose best-selling book
<br>"Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" has angered many Jewish groups and others nationwide, spoke in a gym packed with about 1,700 Brandeis students,
<br>faculty, and other members of the campus community. About 50 protesters gathered outside, but the only protest visible inside the gym was "Pro Israel,
<br>Pro Peace" buttons worn by about 200 students. "This is the first time that I've ever been called a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and
<br>a plagiarist," Carter said to a hushed audience at the school, which has a predominantly Jewish student body, referring to the reaction to his book.
<br>http://www.boston.com:80/news/local/articles/2007/01/24/carter_wins_applause_at_brandeis/
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<br>Smears for Fears
<br>Wes Clark just got caught up in the rigged rules for discussing Israel-related issues in America.
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<br>Retired General Wesley Clark is, like me, concerned that the Bush administration is going to launch a war with Iran. Arianna Huffington spoke
<br>to him in early January and asked why he was so worried the administration was headed in this direction. According to Huffington's January 4
<br>recounting of Clark's thoughts, he said this: "You just have to read what's in the Israeli press. The Jewish community is divided but there is so
<br>much pressure being channeled from the New York money people to the office seekers." This, of course, is true. I'm Jewish and I don't think
<br>the United States should bomb Iran, but Thursday night I was talking to a Jewish friend and she does think the United States should bomb Iran.
<br>The Jewish community, in short, is divided on the issue. It's also true that most major American Jewish organizations cater to the views of extremely
<br>wealthy major donors whose political views are well to the right of the bulk of American Jews, one of the most liberal ethnic groups in the country.
<br>Furthermore, it's true that major Jewish organizations are trying to push the country into war. And, last, it's true that if you read the Israeli press
<br>you'll see that right-wing Israeli politicians are anticipating a military confrontation with Iran. (For example, here's an article about the timing of the selection
<br>of a new top dog in the Israeli Defense Forces; Benjamin Netanyahu is quoted as saying that the new leader "will have to straighten the army out,
<br>rebuild Israel's deterrence and prepare the defenses against threats, first and foremost, against Iran.") Everything Clark said, in short, is true.
<br>What's more, everybody knows it's true. The worst that can truthfully be said about Clark is that he expressed himself in a slightly odd way.
<br>This, it seems clear, he did because it's a sensitive issue and he worried that if he spoke plainly he'd be accused of trafficking in anti-Semitism.
<br>So he spoke unclearly and, for his trouble, got . accused of trafficking in anti-Semitism.
<br>http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12394
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<br>Zionist Vs. Zionist
<br>Controversy breaks out within the Israel on Campus Coalition.
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<br>A national pro-Israel campus group took a risk when several of its chapters brought former Israeli soldiers to their campuses to expose their country's
<br>military practices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Now, it might be paying the price. The Union of Progressive Zionists, some of whose chapters
<br>and affiliates brought the "Breaking the Silence" tour to places like the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Maryland, is a part of
<br>the Israel on Campus Coalition. This December, the 30,000-member Zionist Organization of America (an ICC member) sent a letter to the ICC
<br>demanding that the UPZ be removed from the coalition because of this tour. Other ICC members include the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, the
<br>Anti-Defamation League, and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). UPZ is an affiliate member. The speaking tour, which was
<br>covered in the mainstream media, featured former Israeli soldiers who served in the occupied Palestinian territories. The project has also interviewed
<br>former combat soldiers and has drafted testimonials of what goes on in the occupied territories. During the tour, participants also showed photos of
<br>what they considered excessive force and unethical military behavior. This is a big problem for Morton Klein, the president of the ZOA. In reference
<br>to "Breaking the Silence," Klein maintains that when Israeli soldiers talk about the brutal things their military does to innocent Palestinians, they are only
<br>reporting isolated incidents and are painting an inaccurate, unfair picture. "Israel has the most humane army on earth," he says. Klein's objections are
<br>strategic as well as substantive. The ICC, which is partnered with Hillel, aims to increase advocacy of Israel on American college campuses. It was
<br>launched in 2002, two years after the first intifada in Palestine broke out, when college groups critical of the Israel occupation started to become more
<br>vocal and better organized. To have events like this that align with some of the rhetoric in pro-Palestine groups, Klein warns, is a conflict.
<br>"This is not the mission of the ICC," he says.
<br>http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12360 <b on></b><!-- 17568 -->
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