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Editor's Letter
111k
jam
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Conyers' Bold Declaration
Nether for political gain or out of heartfelt con-
cern, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, broke
important ground in ripping former President
Jimmy Carter's new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.
The title begs to be condemned.
Not only doesn't it serve the
cause of peace, said Conyers — the
Congressional Black Caucus founder
but "the use of it against the Jewish
people in particular, who have been
victims of the worst kind of discrimi-
nation, discrimination resulting in
death, is offensive and wrong."
Well put.
_ Branding Israel "an apartheid
state" is central to the movement to
divest from companies doing busi-
ness with Israel, to the movement
opposing Israel's security fence lines and to the movement
tarring Israel as a Nazi-like oppressor. The implication that
Israel is guilty of government-directed aggression against the
Palestinians by fencing them off in the territories and control-
ling their mobility is ludicrous. Israel's occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza Strip over the years was born out of necessity
in defense of relentless terrorist attacks.
Conyers' emboldened pronouncement is significant. He's a
career liberal who, following the July 12 outbreak of Israel's
war with Hezbollah, voted
against Congressional Resolution
921 in support of Israel. In the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he
comes off as pro-Palestinian,
which is why Arab American
groups honor him. His differ-
ences with Israel are political;
clearly, he sometimes dons blind-
ers in assessing the roots of the
lingering conflict.
Still, among voices on the
W
Rep.
Conyers
left, he's no enemy of Israel. He
opposes divestment and sup-
ports Israel's right to exist with secure borders. He supports
the U.S.-Israel alliance. And he calls Hezbollah and Hamas
terrorist organizations.
He'd be appalled to be seen as anti-Jew.
In a Nov. 2 statement, Conyers said he called Carter to urge
that the title of the book be changed. "President Carter does
not build upon his career as a proponent of peace in the
Middle East with this title,' Conyers said, "and I hope he and
his publisher will reconsider this decision!'
The noble request may be too late. The Simon & Schuster
book is to be released on Nov. 14.
Jewish Praise
In a joint local letter to Conyers, the presidents and senior
executives of the Jewish Community Council, American
Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League agreed that
Carter's book title "does not serve the cause of peace in the
Middle East or elsewhere in the world for that matter!'
The letter correctly observed that using the term "apart-
heid" to describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "demeans
the history of South Africa and the suffering of millions there
— a unique and enormous tragedy."
Like Conyers, the letter characterizes Carter as a champion
of peace and human rights; I see Carter as an impediment.
His widely reported view that "Israel's continued control
and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary
obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy
Land" puts him in the camp of extreme leftists who have seen
Israel's military occupation of Palestinian-controlled lands as
something sinister, not a forced defensive response to terrorist
attacks hoping to break the Israeli will and overrun the Jewish
state. And he took Yasser Arafat, a Palestinian terrorist to the
core, under his wing.
In news accounts, Carter also has blasted Israeli air strikes
on Lebanese civilian centers this summer while ignoring
Hezbollah's civilian-embedded infrastructure and ignoring
Hezbollah's rocket fire on Israel population centers. Hezbollah
plainly started the war by invading Israel, killing eight sol-
diers and taking two others captive.
Sadly, Carter has bought into terrorist propaganda by intent
or derelict.
Like Conyers, I envision a two-state solution to the crisis
between Israelis and Palestinians. But I know that my con-
ditions for,the Palestinian Authority are stricter than his; I
hope he'll toughen his take of the situation given just how far
Carter is moving the political left against Israel.
Making The Most
Conyers makes the same mistakes that many Jews make
— downplaying how Palestinian clerics and leaders make no
sustained, believable efforts to accept Israel in the wild hope
that persuasion and good will win out. I'm not impressed that
a congressman who has served since 1964 buys into that faint
logic.
But I applaud him for seeing that Carter has cheapened the
term "apartheid" in the wake of the massacres in Rwanda,
Somalia and Darfur. I wish the secular press would pick up
on Conyers' statement and either report on it or invite him
to do a guest column. We need it to have broader exposure.
Preaching only to the Jewish community is shortsighted.
If we Jews can work with evangelicals, who are united with
us on Israel at the expense of a range of domestic issues, we
should embrace working with Conyers, despite his hard-left
leanings. We can work with him to help dispel the apartheid
libel, the divestment push and other outrageous anti-Israel
acts. Absolutism shouldn't be required to be our friend.
The Detroit Jewish community should maximize Rep.
Conyers' support and influence. Let's build on his black-
Jewish outreach at the Jewish Community Council's Martin
Luther King Jr. Day observance last January. Let's engage him
not only to encourage non-Jews to stand with Israel, but also
identify moderate Arab and Muslim leaders to help energize
the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Let's look to our local
organizations and institutions to bring such engagement and
make something meaningful result from it. LT,
0
How can Jews counter continued claims
in 5 of Israeli apartheid?
I--
Z z Can we do more to make Rep. Conyers'
o
G. Ix support resonate?
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November 9 s 2006
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