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1967 oPt: Israeli occupied Palestinian territory, Jimmy Carter's book tour (2006-2007)
2007-05: interviews, news, events, comment, context
Tough Love: Jimmy Carter, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
by Charles Judson Harwood Jr.
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec., 2007 Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, August, Sept., Oct, Nov., Dec., 2008 Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July
< May 2007 >
• Norman G. Finkelstein, “It's Not Either/Or: The Israel Lobby” {copy} (CounterPunch, May 1 2007).
Norman Finkelstein: U.S. elite policy, in the Israel-Palestine conflict, would almost certainly not be the same without the Lobby.
What does the U.S.A. gain, from the Israeli settlements and occupation?
In terms of alienating the Arab world, it’s had something to lose.
The Lobby probably can’t muster sufficient power to jeopardize a fundamental American interest.
But it can, significantly, raise the threshold, before U.S. elites are prepared to act, i.e., order Israel out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
As the U.S. finally pressured the Indonesians out of Occupied East Timor.
Whereas Israel doesn’t have many options, if the U.S. does finally give the order to pack up, the U.S. won’t do so, until and unless the Israeli occupation becomes a major liability for it:
On account of the Lobby, the point at which “until and unless” is reached significantly differs.
Without the Lobby, and in the face of widespread Arab resentment, the U.S. would perhaps have ordered Israel to end the occupation by now, sparing Palestinians much suffering.
In the current “either-or” debate, on whether the Lobby affects U.S. Middle East policy, at the elite level, it’s been lost on many of the interlocutors, that a crucial dimension of this debate should be the extent to which the Lobby stifles free and open public discussion on the subject.
For in terms of trying to broaden public discussion here, on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Lobby makes a huge and baneful difference.
Especially since U.S. elites have no entrenched interest in the Israeli occupation, the mobilization of public opinion can have a real impact, on policy-making.
Which is why, the Lobby invests so much energy, in suppressing discussion.
• Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2004 I.C.J. 136 (U.N. I.C.J.: International Court of Justice, The Hague, Advisory Opinion, July 9 2004) {8.1mb.pdf, source}, ICJ summary {128.5kb.pdf, source}, U.N. Doc. A/ES-10/273 (July 16 2004) {469kb.pdf, UNBISnet, browse}.
• Dennis Ross (WINEP), remarks (Emory University, Glenn Memorial Auditorium, 1660 North Decatur Road, Atlanta Georgia, Tuesday May 1 2007, 4:00 p.m. ET), “Inquiry, Conflict, and Peace-building in the Middle East” (speech, Q&As), introduced by James W. Wagner (Emory president), Q&As moderated by Earl Lewis (Emory provost, executive vice president for academic affairs, professor of history and African American studies), video {1:14:00, 242.24mb.rm, Q&As at 48:35, source}, Emory events calendar, international calendar (month, week, day, detail), notice, Former Mid-East Envoy Ross to Speak at Emory May 1 (News@Emory, April 25 2007), reported, Carol Clark, “Ross: Arabs, Israelis and U.S. share blame for stalled peace efforts” (Emory Report, volume 59 number 30, May 7 2007), Samyukta Mullangi, “Speaker: Dennis Ross Criticizes Carter's Factual Errors” {pf} (The Emory Wheel, Atlanta, Friday May 11 2007).
• Settlements
• Blockade, reprisals
• Bombing Iran
• War Crimes Act
• Iran uranium timeline
• Iraq wmd war timeline: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008
• Congress debates, votes
• Debate, “This House believes the pro-Israeli lobby has successfully stifled Western debate about Israel's actions,” speakers: Norman Finkelstein, Andrew Cockburn, Martin Indyk, David Aaronovitch, moderated by Tim Sebastian (chairman) (The Doha Debates, Third Series, venue: Oxford Union Society, Frewin Court, Oxford England, Debating Chamber, Tuesday May 1 2007), DD transcript, video (nb, bb) {45:48, 11.3mb.wmv, 77.5mb.wmv}, podcast video {76.12mb.mp4, rss}, broadcast (not in the U.K.) (BBC World, The Doha Debates, Saturday/Sunday May 5/6 2007), Google (larger) {45:32, 57.9mb.flv, source, search}, audience vote: 65.6/34.4% for/against the motion (DD video at 44:46), reported, “66% of Oxford Union Audience Believe the Pro-Israeli Lobby Stifles Western Debate About Israel's Actions” (Qatar Foundation News, May 2 2007), not reported, by the BBC {search, search} or by U.K. newspapers.
Jimmy Carter at:
• CFR.nyc
• University of Georgia
• Brandeis University
• Emory University
• Carter Center
• George Washington University
• University of Iowa
• Georgia State University
• UCB: University of Calfornia, Berkeley
• UCI: University of Calfornia, Irvine
• AUC: American University in Cairo
• AUB: American University of Beirut
• Jimmy Carter, remarks (UCB: University of California, Berkeley, sponsor: ASUC: Associated Students of the University of California, venue: Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, Alameda County California, Wednesday May 2 2007, 4:30-6:00 p.m. PT), “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid” (speech, Q&As), moderated by Orville Schell (dean, Graduate School of Journalism), video {1:16:14, 127mb.rm, source, archive, rss menu source}, video {1:07:29, 123mb.rm}, UCB calendar (month, week, day), notice (“Jimmy Carter will hold a book signing in the Eshleman Hall Senate Chambers from 3-3:45 p.m. ... In honor of President Jimmy Carter's visit to our campus, his book — Palestine Peace Not Apartheid — is now on sale at 30% off at the Cal Student Store”).
Previews:
• “Jimmy Carter to speak at Zellerbach on May 2” (UC Berkeley News, April 19 2007), “Former President Jimmy Carter to speak on campus” (UC Berkeley News, April 23 2007) (“Attention: Higher education and political reporters and editors”).
• Sonja Sharp, “Coverage in Carter-Land” {pf} (Daily Cal: The Daily Californian, Wednesday April 25 2007).
• Katlyn Carter (assistant university editor), “Carter Ticket Line Stretches Cross-Campus: 1,450 passes to former president's Zellerbach appearance distributed within four hours” {pf} (The Daily Californian, Friday April 27 2007) (“a possibility that the event could be moved to the Hearst Greek Theatre, to accommodate more students”).
• Tierney Allen, “Carter Visit Sees Some Controversy In Jewish Circles” {pf} (The Daily Californian, Monday April 30 2007).
• Janet Gilmore (media relations), “Jimmy Carter to speak on campus this Wednesday” (UC Berkeley News, April 30 2007) (“memo to the media”).
• Matthew Taylor, “Commentary: What Are the Prospects for Peace in the Middle East?” {pf} (The Berkeley Daily Planet, Tuesday May 1 2007).
Reported:
• Dan Ashley (studio), Alan Wang (Berkeley), video “Carter Talks About Latest Book; Mideast Crisis” {2:18, 7.55mb.wmv, rss source} (KGO-TV, ABC7 News HD at Nine, San Francisco, Wednesday May 2 2007, 9-10:00 p.m. PT) (“UC Berkeley visit”), reported, Alan Wang, “Carter Talks About Latest Book; Mideast Crisis: Defends Using 'Apartheid' To Describe Mideast Crisis” {pf} (abc7news.com, Wednesday May 2 2007).
• Bryan Thomas, “Carter Speaks on Middle East” {pf} (Daily Cal: The Daily Californian, Berkeley, Thursday May 3 2007).
• Cristina Bautista, “Differing Groups Rally at Talk” {pf} (The Daily Californian, Berkeley, Thursday May 3 2007), photos.
• Ryan Huff (MediaNews), “Carter speech on Israeli 'apartheid' draws debate {pf}: Many protesters object to former president's characterization of Jewish state as aggressor” (The Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, Alameda Times-Star, Thursday May 3 2007) (“nearly 2,000 people, mostly Cal students, gathered at Zellerbach Hall”).
• Jonathan King (public affairs), “For 90 minutes this week, Berkeley was Carter Center West” (UC Berkeley News, Thursday May 3 2007) (“Before a packed Zellerbach audience, the former president urged the U.S. to reassume its role as 'honest broker' in the Middle East, citing strong support among Israelis for a deal that would trade territory for a lasting peace”), 12 photos, “Slide show: A day with Jimmy Carter”.
• Judith Scherr, “Carter Focuses in on Palestine/Israel at Packed Zellerbach” {pf} (The Berkeley Daily Planet, Friday May 4 2007) (“The bottom line is this: Israel will never find peace, until it is willing to withdraw from its neighbors’ land, and permit the Palestinians to exercise their basic human and political rights,” he said.)
• Michael Lerner (blog) (editor, Tikkun), “Our Meeting with Jimmy Carter” {pf} (Network of Spiritual Progressives {rss}, Berkeley California, meeting May 2 2007, reported May 4).
The Carter Center had arranged for me to meet with Carter, and to invite others as well if I so wished.
So after his speech we assembled in an adjacent room.
I invited eight rabbis (the four Reform rabbis all declined to come hear Carter because of political differences), two nationally respected leaders of the Muslim world, several ministers and activists in the Christian world, several professors, and leaders in the Network of Spiritual Progressives and in Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, as well as Mitchell Plitnick, the national director of Jewish Voice for Peace, and one of the founders of Brit Tzedeck v'Shalom.
In the end, the Secret Service forced me to narrow down the number of participants in this phase.
Carter asked us to tell, how he could be helpful to us, while many of the participants asked, how we could be helpful to him.
... He had allocated an hour and a half to meet with me and whoever I wanted to bring ...
What was particularly impressive to all of us was his humility, good humor, and fundamental human decency ...
The next day, I encountered a Reform rabbi on the streets who, when he heard I had met with Carter, told me, that this was a man who didn’t like Jews and was anti-Israel.
I asked him, if he had read the book (he had not) or ever met the man (he had not).
Wasn’t this “lashon ha'ra”–evil language?
No, he said. He was just trying to defend the Jewish people, from its enemies, like Carter.
• Jimmy Carter, remarks (UCI: University of California, Irvine, sponsors: Center for the Study of Democracy, Model United Nations, Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, Department of Political Science, School of Social Sciences {rss, rss}, venue: Bren Events Center, Irvine, Orange County California, Thursday May 3 2007, 10:30-11:45 a.m. PT), “Remarks on the Middle East Conflict, Israel and Palestine” (speech, Q&As), welcomed by Michael V. Drake (UCI chancellor), William R. Schonfeld (director, UCI Center for the Study of Democracy, dean emeritus, UCI School of Social Sciences), introduced by Catherine Corrigall-Brown (graduate fellow, UCI Center for the Study of Democracy), Jessica Newman (president, UCI Model United Nations Travel Team), moderated by William R. Schonfeld, program {53kb.pdf}, UCI transcripts: speech/Q&As (omits welcomes/introductions), 7 Q&As separately, all 130 submitted questions, 24 photos (“3,400 person sold-out audience”), video {1:10:47, 161mb.rm}, audio {1:12:54, 33.3mb.mp3 source, 1:10:34, 80.7mb.mp3 source} (Radio KUCI), audio {part-1 40.85mb.mp3, part-2 24.41mb.mp3, source}, notice, UCI calendar (month).
Previews:
• Jimmy Carter to visit UC Irvine, talk with students (Today@UCI, April 27 2007).
• Michael Miller, “President Carter to speak at UC Irvine” {pf} (Daily Pilot, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, Orange County California, April 27 2007).
• Marla Jo Fisher, “Carter will speak at UCI: Nobel Prize winner will talk Thursday about the Middle East” (Orange County Register, Santa Ana California, April 30 2007).
Reported:
• “Former President Carter Lecture media coverage ” (UCI School of Social Sciences, News & Events, Friday May 4 2007) {rss, rss}.
• Marla Jo Fisher, “Carter comes to UCI: Among other things, President Carter expressed his ideas on ensuring a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians” (Orange County Register, Santa Ana California, Thursday May 3 2007), “Slideshow” (5 photos).
• Michael Miller, “Activism for all ages {pf}: Former President Jimmy Carter speculates that a problem among college students is indifference about affecting change” {sic: “effecting”} (Daily Pilot, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, Orange County California, Thursday May 3 2007) (“in response to a question about how ... Carter said, students could campaign for Palestinian rights ... Kristen Dunning, a first-year Spanish major, said she didn’t know much about the facts Carter presented but enjoyed his speech and was intrigued to learn more. ‘It was a new kind of opinion,’ she said. ‘Most of the presidential candidates don’t really talk about their views on the Middle East, and it was good to hear a view that wasn’t affected by wanting to get elected.’”).
• Dave McKibben, Nardine A. Saad, “At UCI, Carter urges Muslims, Jews to work together {pf}: The former president calls on leaders of opposing student factions to travel to Palestine and ‘see what's going on for yourselves’.” (Los Angeles Times, Thursday May 3 2007, 6:45 p.m. PT), Mark Boster (LAT photo), “All Smiles” (Former President Jimmy Carter and Jessica Newman, left, president of the Model United Nations Travel team, and Catherine Corrigall-Brown, graduate fellow at the Center for the Study of Democracy, share a laugh during his talk at UC Irvine).
• Anonymous (AP: Associated Press), “Jimmy Carter Visits Calif. Campus” {pf, copy pf, copy} (San Francisco Chronicle, Thursday May 4 2007, 0:44 a.m. PT, San Diego Union Tribune, and others).
Former President Jimmy Carter urged students at a Southern California university — with a history of strained relations between Jewish and Islamic groups — to set differences aside, and work together, to find solutions.
“I’d like to see the leaders form a combined group, and take my invitation, to go to Palestine, and see what’s going on, for yourselves,” Carter told a crowd of about 3,300 students and faculty at University of California, Irvine on Thursday.
“If you take me up on it, I’ll raise the money, to pay for your trip,” he said.
* * *
Carter reiterated his belief that Palestinians “are being persecuted horribly.”
* * *
“There’s political fear in Congress, and among U.S. presidential candidates, to speak out, on a balanced position, with anything that relates to Israel. But college students can play a crucial role in this debate,” he said. “You have nothing to lose.”
Yasser Ahmed, a Muslim majoring in economics, said he was “amazed at the manner in which (Carter) portrayed the conflict.”
“As he mentioned in his speech, it is something that is not mentioned in this country,” Ahmed said.