It is a "he who wins the was writes the history" scenario.
After 40 years of occupation, the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves from their occupiers.
Their lands have been stolen, they don't have any rights and the US supports the Israeli occupation.
Where am I wrong?
Where is Israel right?
Israel kills civilians in the name of self defence to protect the lands they have stolen from the Palestinians.
Freedom and democracy only covers Bush's pet projects.
Iraq!
This was a failure!
If the Israeli and Palestine problem could only be fixed a lot of problems would be solved.

_{repressive governments mix administrative clumsiness & inefficiency with authoritarian tendencies.}

There are several different kinds of settlements. A few in the West Bank are effectively suburbs of Jerusalem. Suburbs are the litter that springs up around every modern city. I don't think they should be counted the same as a fortified outpost in the Gaza Strip.

It was predictable that the Democrats would distance themselves from Jimmy Carter on this. How pathetic. What we need is a credibly non-"anti-semitic" movement in this country to give them cover. Some such groups do exist, but they're not as well-funded as AIPAC, by a long shot. (The talking points of such a movement would be similar to your diary entry, which is excellent, but probably would not encompass statements like the first comment above; a bit more nuance is generally advisable if one is actually trying to convince someone who does not already share one's views.)
Anyway, progressives here need to build/highlight alliances with progressive, peace-oriented American Jewish organizations and Jews (there are a lot of us) rather than mouthing the usual stuff that sounds awfully anti-semitic (especially to Jews) even if it is not intended that way. In addition, as you point out, self-interest is a powerful motivation--and there is no question that Israel's best interest is in attaining peaceful co-existence with its neighbors. That will hurt for a while, but there isn't really any other option.
For starters, how about what my dad proposed 40 years ago: Jerusalem should be an international City under UN mandate, and the capital of both Israel and the Palestinian state?

My view on these things was shaped by meeting some big rollers from there: Ami Ayalon, the guy they put in charge of the Shin Bet to deal with the settlers who killed Rabin; Galia Golan, a prof who was there in Hebron protesting when the first one went up; Sari Nusseibeh, the director of Al Quds University, and Rashid Khalidi from Columbia's middle east center. These guys illustrated that there is not just the binary view - and Ayalon is convinced they will get nuked eventually, unless all the actors are rational by the time proliferation arrives.

It is frustrating to never ever see maps of settlements on American cable TV. There is zero education on the process of rapid, violent geographic change driven by the hardline settlers and their backers inside Israel and the US. We also have the remarkable situation of the Israeli Knesset being far to the LEFT of the US Congress on these matters. Why can't Israeli leftists gain access to Congress? The major purpose of groups like AIPAC is to cut off the Meretz-type leftists from American political dialogue. It seems that Bob Shrum defines the Democratic liberal consensus - and he agrees with Netanyahu, which is just disgusting to anyone who has observed Israeli politics at all.

It is also disgusting how tax incentives trap huge numbers of Jewish families inside West Bank settlements. At least 1/3 would leave tomorrow if they could cash out. Totally unethical trapping of Jewish souls - especially the kids!!

Then there are the links between the apocalyptic Christian Zionists, the military industrial complex and the hardcore Gush Emunim movement. Douglas Feith was a law partner of Marc Zell, a leading hardcore settler. The illusion of this general ideology is that by making this ironclad bind to the land, somehow 'peace and security' will beam out of space and Israel will finally stop the wheel of history, or something. Carrying out this project requires a morality complex ('hasbara') and a staggering amount of military spending - sucking Israel's budget dry with encampments, emplacements. Literally sucking the life out of the original Zionist project to create another iteration in 'Judea and Samaria', a "cruel and blind" variant as they called in Haaretz.

Compounding all this is the radical messianic ideology indoctrinated in the young. In military training hesder yeshiva, young Jewish kids learn hardcore beliefs that do *not* support the state of Israel itself, rather they often believe that the current state is just a weak precursor for a vengeful True (greater) Israel. The threat with these guys was clear during the Gaza evacuations: as units, they might not obey the chain of command if their rabbis pronounce 'Din rodet' or 'law of the pursuer' threat upon the Israeli Prime Minister. This was the settler rabbi religious threat made against Yitzak Rabin required to rationalize his assassination by young settler (educated in W. Bank) Yigal Amir.

The threat that organized hardcore settlers will rebel is very real: for example check out Caroline Glick's article about "Olmert's Convergence Plan" at Gaffney's Center for Security Policy. There is an ominous passage about Israel won't be stable if Olmert forces West Bank withdrawal, she sounds like a mafioso.

It is clear that AIPAC and their style of racially unfair dumb hawkery is going to ruin Israel. What we need to do is figure out how to detach conservative Jews from Evangelican Christians who really just want the antisemitic Apocalypse anyway. We need an alternative political alliance between American progressives, Israeli leftists, and decent Palestinians (who are far more sane and worldly than we generally hear). AIPAC's political formation has to be shattered because they suck. Fortunately one day I purchased AIPACsucks.com - I don't really know what to do with it though. But we need a new political strategy that gains soft power and support anywhere from Minnesota to Tel Aviv to Damascus. There is no reason that Dumb Hawk dominance should continue to fuck over everyone in the world.

PS. - Rent 'Time of Honor' from Blockbuster - an Israeli film set in the settlements, where the kids freak out, and the nerdy guy tries to immanetize the Eschaton by destroying the Temple Mount! Good movie! (and Zell is in the credits)
--
Hongpong.com

I'm not pretending that the Palestinians are angels - most of their leaders are scum and they've done awful things and never lost an opportunity to lose an opportunity. But I also know what the casualty figure ratios are and I know who's suffering more from this.

There are thousands of Palestinian leaders--I have met a few. "Scum" is not a fair word.

Regarding the "never lost an opportunity" talking point, Jimmy Carter in an interview today made a very surprising comment concerning Taba. He directly contradicted Clinton's assertion regarding Barak's supposed acceptance and Arafat's subsequent refusal of a accords which would cede control of some West Bank land back to Palestinians--not true. Carter claims neither leader accepted anything. Very surprising.

This appeared in the NYT today. Link at the bottom.

Offering Video, Israel Answers Critics on War
By GREG MYRE
Published: December 5, 2006
JERUSALEM, Dec. 4 — Israel’s military, which has been accused of abuses in its war against Hezbollah this summer, has declassified photographs, video images and prisoner interrogations to buttress its accusation that Hezbollah systematically fired from civilian neighborhoods in southern Lebanon and took cover in those areas to shield itself from attack.

Lebanon and international human rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes in the 34 days of fighting in July and August, saying that Israel fired into populated areas and that civilians accounted for a vast majority of the more than 1,000 Lebanese killed.
Israel says that it tried to avoid civilians, but that Hezbollah fired from civilian areas, itself a war crime, which made those areas legitimate targets.
In a new report, an Israeli research group says Hezbollah stored weapons in mosques, battled Israelis from inside empty schools, flew white flags while transporting missiles and launched rockets near United Nations monitoring posts.

LINK

To zcowan who commented upthread: "What we need is a credibly non-"anti-semitic" movement in this country to give them cover. Some such groups do exist, but they're not as well-funded as AIPAC, by a long shot". There is the Council for the National Interest that has been fairly active lately. I don't know whether it is included in your list.

I would also like to bring up a related topic, namely the part where Carter is critical of Washington's role: "The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories." There is a very dramatic letter that speaks to that issue from a former US Senator from South Dakota addressed to Jeff Blankfort here, which needs to be read and shared. I left a comment there with a couple of links.

And there is also this most excellent article by Youssef Aschkar that IMO establishes the base on which a whole new world order is being implemented, to wit a reproduction of the Israel/Palestine conflict on a world-wide level, for at the end of the day, Israel's existence as a "Jewish State" may well depend on a state of perpetual war. [Aschkar's document may require clicking twice - not double-click - for the page to open. Don't know why.].

LA Times

Speaking frankly about Israel and Palestine

Jimmy Carter says his recent book is drawing knee-jerk accusations of anti-Israel bias.

By Jimmy Carter
the 39th president of the United States. His newest book is "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," published last month. He is scheduled to sign books Monday at Vroman's in Pasadena.

December 8, 2006

I signed a contract with Simon & Schuster two years ago to write a book about the Middle East, based on my personal observations as the Carter Center monitored three elections in Palestine and on my consultations with Israeli political leaders and peace activists.

We covered every Palestinian community in 1996, 2005 and 2006, when Yasser Arafat and later Mahmoud Abbas were elected president and members of parliament were chosen. The elections were almost flawless, and turnout was very high — except in East Jerusalem, where, under severe Israeli restraints, only about 2% of registered voters managed to cast ballots.

The many controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations — but not in the United States. For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts. This reluctance to criticize any policies of the Israeli government is because of the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices.

It would be almost politically suicidal for members of Congress to espouse a balanced position between Israel and Palestine, to suggest that Israel comply with international law or to speak in defense of justice or human rights for Palestinians. Very few would ever deign to visit the Palestinian cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Gaza City or even Bethlehem and talk to the beleaguered residents. What is even more difficult to comprehend is why the editorial pages of the major newspapers and magazines in the United States exercise similar self-restraint, quite contrary to private assessments expressed quite forcefully by their correspondents in the Holy Land.

With some degree of reluctance and some uncertainty about the reception my book would receive, I used maps, text and documents to describe the situation accurately and to analyze the only possible path to peace: Israelis and Palestinians living side by side within their own internationally recognized boundaries. These options are consistent with key U.N. resolutions supported by the U.S. and Israel, official American policy since 1967, agreements consummated by Israeli leaders and their governments in 1978 and 1993 (for which they earned Nobel Peace Prizes), the Arab League's offer to recognize Israel in 2002 and the International Quartet's "Roadmap for Peace," which has been accepted by the PLO and largely rejected by Israel.

The book is devoted to circumstances and events in Palestine and not in Israel, where democracy prevails and citizens live together and are legally guaranteed equal status.

Although I have spent only a week or so on a book tour so far, it is already possible to judge public and media reaction. Sales are brisk, and I have had interesting interviews on TV, including "Larry King Live," "Hardball," "Meet the Press," "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," the "Charlie Rose" show, C-SPAN and others. But I have seen few news stories in major newspapers about what I have written.

Book reviews in the mainstream media have been written mostly by representatives of Jewish organizations who would be unlikely to visit the occupied territories, and their primary criticism is that the book is anti-Israel. Two members of Congress have been publicly critical. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for instance, issued a statement (before the book was published) saying that "he does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel." Some reviews posted on Amazon.com call me "anti-Semitic," and others accuse the book of "lies" and "distortions." A former Carter Center fellow has taken issue with it, and Alan Dershowitz called the book's title "indecent."

Out in the real world, however, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I've signed books in five stores, with more than 1,000 buyers at each site. I've had one negative remark — that I should be tried for treason — and one caller on C-SPAN said that I was an anti-Semite. My most troubling experience has been the rejection of my offers to speak, for free, about the book on university campuses with high Jewish enrollment and to answer questions from students and professors. I have been most encouraged by prominent Jewish citizens and members of Congress who have thanked me privately for presenting the facts and some new ideas.

The book describes the abominable oppression and persecution in the occupied Palestinian territories, with a rigid system of required passes and strict segregation between Palestine's citizens and Jewish settlers in the West Bank. An enormous imprisonment wall is now under construction, snaking through what is left of Palestine to encompass more and more land for Israeli settlers. In many ways, this is more oppressive than what blacks lived under in South Africa during apartheid. I have made it clear that the motivation is not racism but the desire of a minority of Israelis to confiscate and colonize choice sites in Palestine, and then to forcefully suppress any objections from the displaced citizens. Obviously, I condemn any acts of terrorism or violence against innocent civilians, and I present information about the terrible casualties on both sides.

The ultimate purpose of my book is to present facts about the Middle East that are largely unknown in America, to precipitate discussion and to help restart peace talks (now absent for six years) that can lead to permanent peace for Israel and its neighbors. Another hope is that Jews and other Americans who share this same goal might be motivated to express their views, even publicly, and perhaps in concert. I would be glad to help with that effort.