Jimmy Carter: Anti-Semite?
Those of us who work as teachers often talk about the importance of helping our students to learn the art of “critical thinking,” so they’ll be able to protect themselves from the flood of marketing, advertising, and propaganda pushing them to buy products or believe the fad of the moment.
Nowhere in public debate is the need for critical thinking more desperate—because it is so lacking—than in discussion of Israel and the Palestinians in the United States, which rarely rises above polemics and name-calling. The most current example is that of former President Jimmy Carter, who after publishing his book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid, has come under broad attack from organized Jewry. National Director of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman has led the charge, first quoting Carter (on the ADL website)
“There are constant and vehement political and media debates in Israel concerning its policies in the West Bank but because of powerful political, economic, and religious forces in the U.S., Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned or condemned, voices from Jerusalem dominate our media, and most American citizens are unaware of circumstances in the occupied territories.”
Then he responds:
In other words, the old canard and conspiracy theory of Jewish control of the media, Congress, and the U.S. government is rearing its ugly head in the person of a former President.
Note that in a deft rhetorical trick, Foxman does not argue the facts. He links the former President with classic anti-Semitism, by using the terms “the old canard” and “conspiracy theory.” But as Foxman knows, as does any journalist or scholar who writes about the Middle East, Carter is absolutely right about this. (Heck, I can report that in many Jewish families, criticism of Israel can only take place around the edges.) Debate within Israel is intense, wide-ranging, and frequently impolite. In this country the media and Congress present a nearly united front endorsing most Israeli government policies. Why? Because the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its allies–such as the ADL–within organized Judaism have made it very costly for public officials to criticize Israel, even if they wanted to.
“It would be almost politically suicidal,” Carter wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “for members of Congress to espouse a balanced position between Israel and Palestine, to suggest that Israel comply with international law or to speak in defense of justice or human rights for Palestinians.” The only thing wrong with Carter’s statement is the use of the word “almost.” Don’t believe me–take a look at Senators’ and Representatives’ positions on Israel and Palestine.
Jewish organizations do exercise influence over American policy all out of proportion to their—our, I might add—numbers in the U.S. population. Jewish money is important for Democratic presidential candidates. Jews have played disproportionately influential roles in the neoconservative movement (alas) as well as in liberal organizations.
Normally Jews celebrate these facts. We are proud of the fact that with just 2 percent of the population we have 13 (!) senators—both California senators are Jewish women–and 30 representatives. We can’t have this one both ways: celebrating our success among ourselves and pretending it’s a conspiracy theory when someone else says it.
In today’s New York Times Book Review, Foxman is at it again, accusing Carter of “propagating myths about Jewish power.” Foxman knows all about that power—he’s been working on building it for decades!—and its influence on American support for Israel. He’s engaging in propaganda. A little critical thinking, anyone?
Soon: a look at Jimmy Carter’s book.
January 29th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Nice post. Didn’t Carter end up apologizing for some reason or another?
What is even more annoying is that the lefty Jewish groups, who should be standing up for our former President, are nowhere on Carter.
February 26th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Carter apologized only for the way one sentence in the book was phrased at his talk at Brandeis University. He did not apologize for his general views on Israel and the Palestinians.