Halpern: An apology from Plains

I'm thinking

by Micah D. Halpern

The man from Plains, the former President of the United States, the self-appointed protector of the downtrodden is mostly wrong and often misguided but he is not a vehement anti-Semite; he’s not an anti-Semite at all. Certainly, Carter has stoked the flames of anti-Semitism and caused grave damage to Israel, but it was done out of ignorance, not anti-Semitism.

It appears as if Carter has realized the error of his ways and now he is apologizing.

In a poignant letter to the JTA wire service, Carter, raised in a religious home, literally invokes the spirit of the Viduy from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and actually uses the term al het. He writes: “We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even as we strive in a positive way to help Israel continue to improve its relations with its Arab populations, but we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel.”

And then he continues: “As I would have noted at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but which is appropriate at any time of the year, I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so.”

There is no malice in Jimmy Carter, just lack of understanding and uninformed judgment calls. The major injury that was done by Carter was not done to United States Jewry; the serious damage was done to Israel. So why apologize in the JTA? True to form, even Jimmy Carter’s public apology is inappropriate and misplaced.

If Carter really wanted to repair damage — or at least to put himself in the good graces of world Jewry — he should have written to Yediot, the largest circulation Israeli Hebrew daily newspaper with a popular English internet site. Or he could have chosen the Jerusalem Post where his letter would have received wide circulation with the Jewish American public. But no, he chose the JTA.

More important than the placement of his apology is Carter’s mistaken assumption. To this day, despite all his travels to the Middle East, despite all the time he has spent in the company of the Arab world and the Palestinian community, Jimmy Carter believes that it is in Israel’s power to resolve the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. That mistake in thought and understanding has powered every move, every decision and every comment Jimmy Carter has made about the Palestinian/Israel conflict.

Just as Carter is not an anti-Semite he is not anti-Israel. He believes that Israel has the power but has chosen not to exercise that power. He believes that once Israel makes the decision for peace everything else will fall into place and Israelis and Palestinians will live side by side and happily ever after.

Fairy tales do not come true. And peace with the Palestinians is not exclusively in Israel’s hands. Pressuring Israel to make one-sided concessions will resolve nothing. Much like Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter truly believes that Israel is the strong party in this conflict and as the strong party it is incumbent upon Israel to give everything in exchange for nothing more than a promise — a promise of peace. Carter has painted Israel in an ugly light for not taking his advice. He has given Israel’s enemies sanction to believe that they have the blessings of a former president of the United States when they attack.

Jimmy Carter is not the prophet he believes himself to be. He cannot lead Israel to make concessions and he will not lead the Middle East out of its quagmire. His good intentions have led to very bad policy. He is misinformed and that makes him dangerous, but Jimmy Carter is not evil.

Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. Read his latest book THUGS. He maintains The Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com