I Editor's Letter 111k jam 4 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. 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