Carter apologizes to Jews for his Israeli "aparteid" thesis

[VietnamVet-BRIGHT]

I'm disappointed that Jimmy Carter has apologized in this way (re: article & link below).

My opinion (and that of most of the world) is that the Israeli vs West Bank/Gaza Palestinian issue strongly compares with an aparteid; one that is based on both religion and ethnicity: forceful segregation (enforced by walls, check-points, etc); forceful taking of resources (ie: land, water, even olive trees); discrimination in employment, travel, political representation.  Not sure how it can be seen in any different light.  

And why does Israel think it has a right to this land and the subsequent removal/constraint of non-Jewish residents (Arabs) that have been there for as many generations as any Jewish "Palestinian" and longer than most present day Israeli Jewish residents: those and their offspring who influxed into the area from Europe as a result of the deadly Christian persecution of Jews (aka the Holocaust)?  

Why? Because a fairytale -- an ancient religious myth (which, BTW, has no archeological basis) -- says that that is their rightful land.  (This ancient, fictional mandate can be found specifically in the following fairytales: Genesis 15:18-21, Exodus 23:31, Numbers 34:1-15 and Ezekiel 47:13-20).  

Moreover, the US continues to provide this essentially Jewish country (again, which was founded/based/validated on religious myth less than two generation ago) resources in the MULTI-BILLIONS of dollars including military equipment for uses that include the continuance and enforcement of such religious/ethnic aparteid.  

Former president Carter offers apology to Jews

ATLANTA (AP) â€" Former President Jimmy Carter is offering the Jewish community an apology for any of his "words and deeds" that may have upset them.

Carter writes in an open letter to the Jewish community this week that he hopes the new year will bring peace between Israel and its neighbors. He says "we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel."

He adds: "I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so."

Al Het is a prayer said on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. It signifies a plea for forgiveness.

Carter has been criticized by some in the Jewish community who contend his 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid unfairly compared Israeli treatment of Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza to the legalized racial oppression that once existed in South Africa.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... eedfetcher

[Will]

Zionism is when religion is used as an excuse to do something that would otherwise be considered unacceptable, namely suggesting that there's some sort of supernatural deed to the land now called Israel. Had there been no people in that area before the foundation of Israel, it wouldn't matter, but there have been people living there for tens of thousands of years. The whole thing got botched up after the Ottoman Empire fell and the UK got control of the area.

Apartheid is strong language, but it does seem apt in this situation. Israel and Palestine should at least be seeking a two-state solution right now where Israel is no longer asserting such control over Palestine and Palestine can finally have some room to become more moderate.

[larstheviking]

If the U.S. government supports a theocratic state built on the principles of religion-fueled expansionism and a form of manifest destiny, then I believe it is violating what I hold as one of the key virtues that makes this nation great. It is a question of human rights, and I would like to believe that the US government would never support another government's human rights violation simply because of a flimsy religion-based argument.

[John_Silver]

Israel is a secular government which is influenced by several different levels of Judaism...most of it also secular. The Haredi aren't the only ones calling the shots. And before we all get carried away with the "not their land" diatribes, let's remember that the space each of us occupies (regardless of its geographical location) once belonged to someone else and the means with which it was acquired was most likely quite nasty. Particularly the land I am standing on.

John