The Jimmy Carter apology is deeply suspicious and seems utterly insincere. In order for a person to receive forgiveness for his actions, he needs to atone for them. There is no atonement, as can be seen in his anti-Israel op-ed in the Guardian two days after he offered the “apology.” And the timing of the open letter is very suspicious. It coincides with his grandson’s run for office in Atlanta (though Carter denies this has anything to do with it), but it’s also nothing to do with Hanukkah.
In his JTA interview, Carter discussed “impressions” of his words:
Carter said he never meant to convey the impression that the pro-Israel lobby silenced criticism of Israel, only that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was the “most influential lobbying group” and that presidents including himself and congresses have historically been “totally committed” to Israel’s security. He was grateful for the rise of J Street, saying that the dovish group’s views were aligned with his own.
The “impression”? Well, let’s revisit Carter’s words.
You have to remember that the major Israeli lobbies, they’re not in favor of peace. They never have professed to be. What they are in favor of is protecting the policies of whatever government is in charge in Israel. If you look at their Web sites, they make that quite clear. So they’re for Israel, they’re not for peace between Israel and its neighbors.
Caught in a lie again, Mr. Carter. And there are more.
There would be no way a member of the House or Senate in Washington could make a public statement condemning Israel or supporting the Palestinians. They would probably be threatened with being out of office the next term.
I believe the word for that is “calumny”.
When Carter atones for all of his sins, we can begin to forgive him. Merely saying the words “al het” doesn’t make this apology sincere. And I’m not the only one who isn’t buying it.
In his interview with JTA, the elder Carter acknowledged that the negative impressions about his book and book tour had ruptured his relations with the Jewish community. Jewish friends, including Atlanta Rabbi Alvin Sugarman, prominent Atlanta lawyer Miles Alexander and Stuart Eizenstat, who was Carter’s chief White House domestic policy adviser, urged him to reach out to the Jews.
He attempted to do so by arranging a talk at a synagogue or another Jewish venue, Carter told JTA, but was rebuffed.
It sounds to me like it’s an apology of expedience, nothing more. Once again: Apology not accepted. I still think Carter’s problem with Israel is that there are Jews in it.