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A letter to Jewish citizens of America
By President Jimmy Carter

Raw Story.Com, December 20, 2006

Former President Carter blames media's 'pro-Israel bias' on AIPAC and 'Christians like me'

In a letter addressed to Jewish citizens of America, former President Jimmy Carter explains the media's "pro-Israel bias" partly on a powerful lobbying organization which faces no "significant countervailing voices," but primarily puts the blame on "Christians like me."
Carter's recently published book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, has caused a "stir," which was "partly intentional," the former president told Newsweek.

"One of the purposes of the book was to provoke discussion, which is very rarely heard in this country, and to open up some possibility that we could rejuvenate or restart the peace talks in Israel that have been absent for six years—so that was the purpose of the book," Carter told Newsweek's Eleanor Clift.

Carter also told the magazine that the "effectiveness" and "powerful influence" of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has resulted in more "inhibited" debates in the United States than nearly anywhere else.

"In this country, any sort of debate back and forth, any sort of incisive editorial comment in the major newspapers, is almost completely absent," Carter said.

"And any member of Congress who's looking to be re-elected couldn't possibly say that they would take a balanced position between Israel and the Palestinians, or that they would insist on Israel withdrawing to international borders, or that they would dedicate themselves to protect human rights of Palestinians—it's very likely that they would not be re-elected," Carter added.

In the letter addressed to American Jews, Carter also includes Christians like himself for limiting the debate.

"I made it clear that I have never claimed that American Jews control the news media, but reiterated that the overwhelming bias for Israel comes from among Christians like me who have been taught since childhood to honor and protect God's chosen people from among whom came our own savior, Jesus Christ," Carter writes.

"An additional factor, especially in the political arena, is the powerful influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is exercising its legitimate goal of explaining the current policies of Israel's government and arousing maximum support in our country," Carter continues.

"There are no significant countervailing voices," Carter regrets.

Full text of Carter's letter:

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A letter to Jewish citizens of America

During my recent book tour I signed more than 100,000 books and was interviewed on 100 news media outlets.* The high point for me was a meeting with leaders of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix, who announced before my arrival that they would demonstrate against my book. When they invited me to meet with them, I accepted immediately. The six rabbis (three men and three women) and I were the only ones present except for a camera crew under the direction of Jonathan Demme, who was making a documentary about me and the work of The Carter Center. Demme reported that there was an equally large group of Jewish citizens demonstrating in support of the book and its call for a path to peace.

We first discussed the peace treaty I negotiated between Israel and Egypt in 1979, and the Holocaust Commission I announced on Israel's 30th birthday. Five of them had read my book completely and one partially, and I answered their questions about the text and title of PALESTINE PEACE NOT APARTHEID. I emphasized, as I had throughout the tour, that the book was about conditions and events in the Palestinian territories and not in Israel, where a democracy exists with all the freedoms we enjoy in our country and Israeli Jews and Arabs are legally guaranteed the same rights as citizens.

We discussed the word "apartheid," which I defined as the forced segregation of two peoples living in the same land, with one of them dominating and persecuting the other. I made clear in the book's text and in my response to the rabbis that the system of apartheid in Palestine is not based on racism but the desire of a minority of Israelis for Palestinian land and the resulting suppression of protests that involve violence. Bishop Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and prominent Israelis, including former attorney general Ben Yair, who served under both Labor and Likud prime ministers, have used and explained the appellation in harsher terms than I, pointing out that this cruel oppression is contrary to the tenets of the Jewish faith and the basic principles of the nation of Israel.

Having traveled throughout the Holy Land during the past 33 years, especially within the occupied areas, I was qualified to describe the situation from my own personal observations. In addition, The Carter Center has monitored the Palestinian elections of 1996, 2005, and 2006, which required a thorough and intimate involvement with Palestinian citizens, candidates, public officials, and also the top political leaders of Israel who controlled checkpoints throughout the West Bank and Gaza and all facets of the elections in East Jerusalem.

I made it clear that I have never claimed that American Jews control the news media, but reiterated that the overwhelming bias for Israel comes from among Christians like me who have been taught since childhood to honor and protect God's chosen people from among whom came our own savior, Jesus Christ. An additional factor, especially in the political arena, is the powerful influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is exercising its legitimate goal of explaining the current policies of Israel's government and arousing maximum support in our country. There are no significant countervailing voices.

I am familiar with the extreme acts of violence that have been perpetrated against innocent civilians, and understand the fear among many Israelis that threats against their safety and even their existence as a nation still exist. I reiterated my strong condemnation of any such acts of terrorism.

When asked my proposals for peace in the Middle East, I summarized by calling for Hamas members and all other Palestinians to renounce violence and adopt the same commitment made by the Arab nations in 2002: the full recognition of Israel's right to exist in peace within its legally recognized 1967 borders (to be modified by mutual agreement by land swaps). This would comply with U.N. Resolutions, the official policy of the United States, commitments made at Camp David in 1978 and in Oslo in 1993, and the premises of the International Quartet's "Roadmap for Peace." An immediate step would be the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, now absent for six years. President Mahmoud Abbas is the official spokesman for the Palestinians, as head of the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and has repeatedly called for peace talks. I asked the rabbis to join in an effort to induce the Israeli government to comply with this proposal.

In addition, I pointed out that the Palestinian people were being deprived of the necessities of life by economic restrictions imposed on them by Israel and the United States because 42% had voted for Hamas candidates in the most recent election. Teachers, nurses, policemen, firemen, and other employees are not being paid, and the U.N. has reported that food supplies in Gaza are equivalent to those among the poorest families in sub-Sahara Africa with half the families surviving on one meal a day. My other request was that American Jewish citizens help to alleviate their plight.

The chairman of the group, Rabbi Andrew Straus, then suggested that I make clear to all American Jews that my use of "apartheid" does not apply to circumstances within Israel, that I acknowledge the deep concern of Israelis about the threat of terrorism and other acts of violence from some Palestinians, and that the majority of Israelis sincerely want a peaceful existence with their neighbors. The purpose of this letter is to reiterate these points.

We then held hands in a circle while one of the rabbis prayed, I autographed copies of my book as requested, and Chaplain (Colonel) Rabbi Bonnie Koppell gave me a prayer book.

I have spent a great deal of my adult life trying to bring peace to Israel, and my own prayer is that all of us who want to see Israelis enjoy permanent peace with their neighbors join in this common effort.

Sincerely,

Jimmy Carter

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LINK TO LETTER AT THE CARTER CENTER

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Former_

President_Carter_blames_media_proIsrael_1217.html

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2313DF76-EA73-4A02-9AD0-07A28E9D2AF9.htm
Two Israeli soldiers suspended

The Israeli army has suspended two soldiers involved in the death of a Palestinian girl, believed to be 13-years old, near the West Bank town of Tulkarm.

Witnesses said the soldier opened fire when the girl was playing with a friend near the barrier Israel has built to separate the West Bank from Israel.

The girl was identified as Doaa Abd al-Qadr, and her friend was named as 12-year-old Rasha Shalbi.

Israeli army sources said troops opened fire when they noticed a suspicious figure approaching the fence, 100m away, late on Tuesday night.

Unprovoked
The commanding officer at the scene fired a shot into the air, and a soldier opened fire on the approaching figure.

"Do you think my daughter is capable of destroying the Wall?"
Doaa's mother
Al-Kadr was hit in the hand by a bullet, leaving her seriously wounded. She died on the way to hospital in Tel Aviv.

Palestinian sources said the second girl was seriously wounded, but the Israeli army said she suffered only from shock.
Israeli human rights groups are demanding immediately that the Israeli army release their rules of engagement showing that Israeli soldiers are not allowed to shoot at civilians.

The mother of Doaa expressed her grief by questioning the Israeli army's intentions: "Do you think my daughter is capable of destroying the wall? A little girl, to be killed and slaughtered by the wall."

The army called the incident a very serious matter, adding that the soldier who fired the shots had not been authorised to do so.

Preliminary results from an investigation have revealed that the soldier opened fire of his own accord.

The Israeli army central command ordered the officer and the soldier who fired the shots to be suspended from all activities, and has launched an investigation.

Rights of the child

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the fundamental rights of all children. Israel signed and ratified this agreement in October 1991.

However, according to the Palestine Monitor, between September 2000 and July 2006, 783 Palestinian children under the age of 18 have been killed by the Israeli army and Israeli settlers.

The Palestine Monitor is a civil society group that sources information from Palestinian, US and European NGOs.

"It's been one of the deadliest years that we have seen"

Dan Rohrmann, Unicef

This figure is almost 22% of the total number of Palestinians killed in that time.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, 2,660 Palestinian children have been permanently disabled due to Israeli attacks in the same period.

Misuse of weapons

Unicef has said that 123 Palestinian children have been killed in 2006, which is more than double the 2005 figure. In Gaza alone, 103 children have been killed.
Dan Rohrmann, Unicef's special representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said: "This has been a tragic year for Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank.

"It's been one of the deadliest years that we have seen."

http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israelis annex more Palestinian land for illegal settlements
Date: 20 / 12 / 2006 Time: 13:12

Qalqilia - Ma'an - Israeli forces have bulldozed huge areas of Palestinian land east of the village of Jinsafut, east of Qalqilia city, in the northern occupied West Bank.

Local sources said that the aim of the destruction of the land is to expand the Israeli settlement of Immanu'el, which was built on the villagers' lands and land from neighbouring villages.

The sources added that the Israeli forces prohibited the owners of the land from entering their land.

index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=18229

http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23306/1/
PCHR: "Border crossing agreement, another year of suffering"
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC - Wednesday, 20 December 2006, 17:41

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza published a report entitled "Crossings Agreement - Another Year of Suffering", in which the center conducted a study on the effects of restrictions and limitations imposed by Israel on the movement and lives of the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The report also surveys the economic and social life of the Palestinian people, facing daily hardships and obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation.

The PCHR report revealed that one year after the Crossing Agreement was reached, Israel continued its restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian people limiting their movement between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The closure of crossings, weather border terminals, trade crossings, and checkpoints restricted the movement of the residents and barred them from receiving the needed educational, medical and social services, in addition to isolating them from each other and from the rest of the world.

Health services in Palestine had sharply deteriorated as a result of the closure and continuous Israeli attacks and policies.

The Israeli procedures also included imposing collective punishment on the people, as the army escalated its attacks and shelling and barred the access of goods and medicine into the Gaza Strip.

The PCHR stated that the Israeli policies, especially the social and economical strangulation of Palestine caused a sharp deterioration of the social and economical conditions of the people, and barred the residents from having access to work.

Children, as well as most of the residents, have not been receiving the needed medical care and attention especially since Israel stepped-up its policies against the people, which barred the residents from having access to the needed medications and equipment, especially the people who have chronic diseases.

Unemployment level in the Gaza Strip reached 44%, and jumped to 55% after Israel increased the restrictions it imposes on the residents, especially the increasing closures.

Poverty level in the Gaza Strip was 64% before the agreement was singed last year, now poverty level is 73%.

The income of the residents had sharply deteriorated over the last three years, as it dropped from 32% to 45%, as the Israeli policies affected all aspects on the Palestinian life, especially the health, industrial, trade and transportation sectors.

One year after the agreement was signed, the movements of people and goods remained restricted, and the articles regarding the development of the Palestinian economy remained on the shelf.

Harsh Debate on Tamir’s Green Line Map

By Hana Levi Julian

The Knesset Education Committee held a harsh debate Monday on whether to return the pre-1967 Green Line demarcation to maps in school textbooks.

Education Minister Yuli Tamir, a former founding member of Peace Now, ordered her staff at the beginning of the month to ensure that textbook maps show the pre-1967 borders that separated Judea, Samaria and Gaza from the rest of Israel.

"We teach, for instance, about United Nations Resolution 242, but we don't show students the Green Line. We cannot deny that there used to be a border that is still being debated today," she said in making the announcement on December 5th.

“How can we demand that the Arab world recognize our borders if we don’t recognize the June 1967 borders,” she asked.

The battle lines were drawn even more sharply at Monday’s committee meeting.

“What does she want – that a student in Ramat Eshkol or N'vei Yaakov or Gilo will feel like he lives outside of the border?” asked National Union/National Religious Party chairman and Knesset Member Zevulun Orlev.

“Ladies and gentlemen, that [Green Line] is not our border!” he declared vehemently.

Ultimately, the committee members were not given the option to debate the matter further. Chairman Michael Melchior (Labor-Meimad) squashed a motion to freeze action on her decision until there was more time to discuss the issue in depth, and he refused to bring the matter to a vote.

Decisions Don’t Necessarily Mean Action
It is becoming clear that there is a significant difference between issuing an order to change all the maps in school textbooks, and actually having the wherewithal to do so.

According to the director of the Geological Survey of Israel, the Green Line can only be drawn on maps designated as “historic” - because it no longer exists. In an interview on Israel state radio, Dr. Chaim Srabro said the Green Line is only a historic entity, not a political border, despite Tamir’s assertion that it is in fact still being debated.

Former Meretz Party head Yossi Sarid, a former Education Minister, issued a statement two weeks ago in support of Tamir’s decision. "Israeli students must know that Israel's borders both in the north and the east are not final and will be determined by negotiations," he said.

At the same time, National Union MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, who served as Education Minister from 1998 to1999, added his voice to the chorus of dissent. Rabbi Levy said he did not approve of Tamir's stance on placing all of Judea and Samaria up for grabs in keeping with Arab and Palestinian Authority demands to turn the entire area into an independent Arab state.

"Tamir is trying to force her political opinions upon the students of Israel," Levy said. "Previous Education Ministers kept the Ministry free of political decisions of this nature."

The most important political test, however, will ultimately appear in the budget, according to Professor Yoram Ben-Gal of Haifa University’s Geography and Environmental Studies Department. Ben-Gal told Haaretz on Tuesday that most textbooks are published by private firms, who are not likely to pay for the expensive change, leaving the government to debate whether it is willing to foot the bill.

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