Thank You Jimmy Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter has just published a book entitled, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. In it he tries to take a more even-handed view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and as a result we already hear the charges of anti-semitism. If anyone thinks it possible to criticize Israel in the U.S. without being charged with anti-semitism they must either be blindly pro-Israeli or not paying attention. Carter mentions the Israel lobby in the U.S. and its suppression of criticism of Israel, however, the fact of his waiting until he was 82 to publish this book is itself likely implicit evidence of the Israel lobby's power; if he had published as a younger man it would have tempted the lobby to brand him anti-semitic and discourage many from listening to him. Already the knee-jerk criticisms can be heard from otherwise liberal Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers who fear the electoral power of the lobby. If you don't believe in this power read former-Congressman Paul Findley's book, They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby.

Here is another recent article regarding the Israel lobby and its attacks upon academic freedom: Academic Freedom Declines Across the United States.

Here's another from Inside Higher Ed.

Here's another based upon Stalinist right-winger (no, this is not a contradiction in terms) David Horowitz who 40 years ago was on the left.