Waging Peace

Jimmy Carter is a much better EX President than he ever was President. Or, maybe it's that he's a lot older now and just plain don't give a damn anymore. Or, maybe he sees his end and wants to make sure he gets a fair shot at getting in the pearly gates. Whatever the reason, I hope he keeps it up.

Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2007, pages 54-55

Former President Jimmy Carter Speaks in Iowa City

Jimmy Carter spoke to an audience of more than 7,000 about his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, and about peace in the Middle East, at an April 18 appearance at the University of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“The main reason I wanted to come to Iowa is to make sure that you realize that you can shape the outcome of the 2008 presidential election,” Carter told an audience that included a large percentage of students. Carter, who negotiated the 1978 Camp David Accords, asked his audience to require each party’s presidential candidate to take a pledge regarding peace efforts in the Middle East.

“If they won’t make this pledge to you, do not support them,” Carter urged. “This is it: ‘If elected president I will do everything possible to promote negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians to achieve peace and security for Israel and a secure and contiguous state for the Palestinians.’ If they won’t tell you that, don’t support them,” the former president said to enthusiastic applause.

Carter noted that he has received more than a hundred invitations to speak at universities and has accepted invitations to speak at Brandeis, Emory, George Washington, Berkeley and the University of Iowa.

Before discussing the content of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, the 39th U.S. president devoted seven minutes of his 20-minute speech to recalling for his audience evidence of his personal commitment to Israel’s security and peace. Carter, who has been smeared as anti-Semitic by advocates for Israel since his book was published in November 2006, apparently thinks it necessary to inoculate himself in this way against the false charge of anti-Semitism.

Noting “the powerful influence” of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which pursues what Carter characterized as “its legitimate goal of defending the policies of Israel’s most conservative governments and arousing maximum support in our country,” Carter cautioned that “Under AIPAC pressure there are few significant countervailing forces in the public arena, and any balanced debate is still practically non-existent in the U.S. Congress or among presidential candidates.”

Carter called for U.S. leadership to act as an honest broker in negotiating peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

“To play that essential role, America must not be seen as in the pocket of either side,” he explained. “We must enjoy a degree of trust and respect from both sides. We must always make clear our commitment to the security of Israel, but we cannot be peacemakers if American government leaders are seen as knee-jerk supporters of every action or policy of whatever Israeli government happens to be in power at the moment. That’s the essential fact…” said Carter—the remainder of his sentence lost in thunderous applause.

“The American friends of Israel who insist on such subservience are in many cases sincere and well-intentioned people—I know a lot of them—but they are tragically mistaken on this crucial issue,” said Carter. “Their demands subvert America’s ability to bring to Israel what she most desperately needs and wants, peace and security within recognized borders.”

Carter, who has more practical, hands-on experience over time with the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestine conflict and the crisis in the Middle East than any other American statesman, quickly went to the heart of the problem.

“The bottom line is this,” he said. “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.

“The premise of getting peace in exchange for Palestinian territory adequate to a viable and contiguous state has been acceptable for decades to a substantial majority of Israelis,” he added, “but not to a minority of the more conservative leaders who have intruded into Palestine and who are unfortunately supported by AIPAC and by many of the vocal American Jewish community. The current policies are leading to an immoral outcome that is undermining Israel’s standing in the world and is not bringing security or peace.

“The growth of Islamic extremism and the unprecedented hostility toward America in the Islamic world is directly related to the continuing bloodshed between the Israelis and Palestinians,” said Carter. “To think otherwise is foolish and dangerous.”

Carter noted that Hamas, and any other group that is part of a representative Palestinian government, will have to recognize Israel within its own boundaries, accept past agreements, and reject violence. He went on to say that long-term prospects are not discouraging, citing polls that indicate enormous margins of approval among both Israelis and Palestinians for a mutually agreeable peace plan.

“It is crucial that our next president take advantage of these opportunities and not be bound by any powerful lobby that does not promote peace in the Middle East,” said Carter, once again to enthusiastic and sustained applause.

Carter concluded his speech with a call for “what all of us want, a secure Israel living in peace with its neighbors, but exemplifying the principles of ancient, sacred texts and the founding fathers of Israel, justice and righteousness for the Palestinians.” The audience responded with a standing ovation.

Asked to provide advice for students and policymakers who desire to create a lasting peace among Israelis and Palestinians, Carter concluded the question-and-answer period by advising students and faculty to visit Palestine and Israel to see for themselves what is going on there, to do research on and study the 2003 Geneva accords—and, “every time a presidential candidate comes to Iowa, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican, make them pledge to you, in exchange for your support, that they will take a balanced position between Israel and the Palestinians, and promote peace for Israel and justice for Palestinians.

“One reason that I chose to come to Iowa, instead of almost a hundred universities that I didn’t visit, is that I know that you, collectively, here at this university, will have a major role in shaping America’s policy in the Middle East. You can be a key factor in bringing what we all want, peace to Israel, peace to the Palestinians, an end to the violence, and justice for all people in the Holy Land.”