by James M. Wall
Juan Cole reports that President Jimmy Carter was “brutally frank” in a recent interview with England‘s Prospect magazine.
Carter was on a tour for his new book, A Full Life: Reflections at 90, when he told journalist Bronwen Maddox, “all hope for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict has ended. At this moment, there is zero chance of the two-state solution.”
Cole wrote in Truthdig, that while most analysts have agreed that the two-state solution is no long viable, Carter went further with an assertion that the solution died when:
“The Netanyahu government decided early on to adopt a one-state solution … but without giving them [the Palestinians] equal rights.”
Cole adds that Carter “accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having pursued, upon his election in 2009, a deliberate policy of relentlessly annexing and colonizing the Palestinian West Bank, ensuring that it will end up as part of Israel.”
Since 2009, Carter said:
“Netanyahu conspired to ensure that the 4.2 million Palestinians under Israeli occupation remain stateless and without rights.
As Cole sees it, “Carter is simply stating the obvious”.
The obvious, however, is not the prevailing narrative in “the world of international diplomacy”.
Carter’s “brutally frank” interview violates the conventions of the standard “two sides” political discourse. Carter blames Israel, “the occupying authority, for its illegal actions, rather than [blaming the Palestinians] the helpless, occupied population.”
Far too many secular and religious U.S. leaders have embraced the “two sides” subterfuge by while turning their backs on the harsh occupation reality and ignoring the truth-telling of moral leaders like Carter.
Fortunately there are exceptions. A growing number of religious leaders have abandoned the conventional “two sides” nonsense and joined the BDS movement launched by Palestinian religious and civic leaders.
One notable religious breakthrough came this summer when the United Methodist Kairos Response, co-chaired by Susanne Hoder and the Rev. Michael Yoshi, sent an open letter to United Methodist laywoman Hillary Rodham Clinton, currently the leading candidate for the presidential nomination of her Democratic Party.
The letter begins:
“As a United Methodist, you know that our church has had a long history of defending oppressed people, both at home and abroad. As our founder, John Wesley, famously said, ‘The World is my parish’, and we consider that to be true today.”
In this letter, the UMKR asks Clinton to “acknowledge the moral nature of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] movement to end the human rights abuses taking place against the Palestinian people by the government of Israel”.
This is not “tea and cookies”, or “can’t we all just get along” talk. Rather, these United Methodists call on Hillary Rodham Clinton to reverse her earlier anti-BDS position expressed in her letter to Haim Saban, the Israeli-American entertainment mogul who has been a longtime major Clinton donor.
Clinton’s letter says BDS “seeks to punish Israel and dictate how the Israelis and Palestinians should resolve the core issues of their conflict. This is not the path to peace.”
“I know you agree that we need to make countering BDS a priority,” Clinton wrote. Then she adds, “I am seeking your advice on how we can work together – across party lines and with a diverse array of voices – to reverse this trend with information and advocacy, and fight back against further attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel.”
The mind boggles to think of the mean ole BDS “punishing” poor little nuclear-armed Israel with a non-violent tactic that was effective against apartheid South Africa.
Clinton has been around this track before. She knows better than to write that BDS is “punishing” Israel. BDS does not punish; it shames.
Palestinians also use shame against the occupation with art as a major weapon. The example above is one of many available on the Facebook page, The Art of Occupied Palestine.
Clinton’s fawning letter to Saban closes with her hand-written note — “look forward to working with you on this.”
Think about it, the woman who could be this nation’s next president, has promised to work with Israeli-American Haim Saban to further subdue an occupied population.
Enough with the fawning. Clinton must listen to her fellow American United Methodists who have “implored” her to reconsider her opposition to BDS.
As a senator, Clinton was wrong when she supported the 2003 Bush invasion of Iraq. She is wrong again on BDS.
The picture of President Carter at top is an AP Photo by Matt Rourke.
Wallwritings 
Thanks Jim, for giving us the news that the UM’s are getting after one of their (highly placed) own to correct the record on BDS.
How shamelessly she pandered to the Big Money Man to support her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for our highest office.
And the letter by James Zogby to Sec. Kerry in re the George Khoury and Habib matter is also worth mentioning, i.e., how Israel dishonors Arab Americans who want to visit Israel and are shamefully denied. How can there be no consequences for these systemic violations of American values?
The least we should do is reciprocate and not allow Jews with an American passport or American citizenship papers to visit the United States.
Clinton has been in Israel’s and AIPAC’s pocket for a long time. Unlike Mark Twain’s quip about the reports of his death being “greatly exaggerated”, the opposite is true of the report of the two state solution’s death. With the exception of Mr. Carter, bless his soul. This nation of ours lives on denial. Thanks, Jim
As former President Carter rightfully concluded: There is no longer a viable 2-State solution, due to Israeli government leading this potential solution to its demise. And Carter courageously put the blame squarely on war-monger Netanyahu and Israel’s extremist saber-rattling junta.
No American President, except for President Carter, dared put Israel in its place, since Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. Ike ordered Israel to withdraw from Sinai after the 1956 Tri-partite invasion of Egypt, along with Britain and France. Kennedy was alarmed by Israel’s acquiring its nuclear arsenal, a first in the Middle East, and was on a path to force Israel to disassemble its nuclear System, before he was assassinated.
Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, should be ashamed of her un-Presidential position to pander to Saban-Sheldon and their “Casino-Conspiracy” accomplices.
In her disgusting position, Pandering-Hillary might as well be coaxing Palestinians to abandon their “non-violent” path and coaxing them to adopt violent means in gaining their freedom – just like the Americans did, not too long ago. Come to think of it, perhaps, the Palestinians should take her up on that.
Now that Netanyahu has made himself clear, the time has arrived for the United States to terminate our special relationship with Israel, and to cut off all military, financial, and diplomatic favors for Israel. All further diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel should be returned to normal diplomatic channels. If the Israeli government insists on committing war crimes and crimes against peace, they must sink or swim on their own without our assistance. And if our sell-out politicians in Washington D. C. continue their complicity in the crimes of the current course of the Israeli government, and if we elect Hillary Clinton for President and follow her policy, the United States will crumble, as Israel will collapse, and as the West Roman Empire fell. It is just a matter of time. Natural law governs history, and brutally enforces itself. Countless examples illustrate this truth, — e. g., the judicial murder of Jeanne d’Arc cost England all her possessions in France except Calais, the lawlessness of the Puritan revolution gave England military dictatorship under Cromwell, and the unjust revolution culminating in the execution of Louis XVI was followed by 150 years of war, defeat, ruin, chaos, and humiliation for France. The Bible does not remotely suggest that we must help rebuild the third temple so Jesus can come again: it teaches by clear admonitions and illustrates by acute examples that God wants justice not sacrifice, and that injustice leads to the wreckage of nations. As an American I am ashamed of the United States, and wash my hands of any responsibility for the wrongs of our government in the Middle East. There are some good Americans. Jimmy Carter has been one of them. — John Remington Graham of the Minnesota Bar (#3664X)
Like other revelations in international relations, it is good to see a public declaration by Jimmy Carter that Netanyahu never has been in favor of a two-state solution. We had the feeling this was true, but now it is public knowledge. I am reminded of the conclusion by Naim Ateek in 2002 that Israel’s “foreign” policy was “execution or exile.”
Clinton? She has long been a conniving politician from Day One. Whether or not she believes in a one-state solution is unimportant. MORE important is that she believes she should be the next president…by any means necessary. After all, it’s very “American.” That’s how we removed the Native Peoples from power.
Thank you for the post. For more on John Wesley, I would like to invite you to the website for the book series, The Asbury Triptych Series. The trilogy based on the life of Francis Asbury, the young protégé of John Wesley and George Whitefield, opens with the book, Black Country. The opening novel in this three-book series details the amazing movement of Wesley and Whitefield in England and Ireland as well as its life-changing effect on a Great Britain sadly in need of transformation. Black Country also details the Wesleyan movement’s effect on the future leader of Christianity in the American colonies, Francis Asbury. The website for the book series is http://www.francisasburytriptych.com. Please enjoy the numerous articles on the website. Again, thank you, for the post.