Cee Miracles---I love your characterization of President Jimmy Carter as Walking Truth. That is so apt. The picture above cannot help but capture the incredible and beautiful Light that emanates from his very being. I have loved this man since he was president and will continue to all of my life.

Carter, like George McGovern, escapes Amerika's notice. We are a nation that doesn't have the capacity anymore to appreciate real statesmen. SO sad, really

The best propaganda pieces are 95% truth with a couple of real lying zingers thrown in, like this article. Hamas isn't calling for the destruction of Israel. Hamas recognized Israel as a sovereign nation and offered a peace treaty years ago which Israel rejected. Fatah isn't "more moderate." Fatah is financed by the U.S. and Israel to stage violent clashes with Hamas in Gaza. It's chiefly a Mossad-U.S. Intelligence operation. The author of this article appears to be a Jewish journalist.

jjpeter April 17th, 2008 4:21 pm
"The root cause of middle east terrorism, can be traced back to 1948…"

jjpeter, if you really believe that then you truly need a bit of a history lesson. Here it is:

http://iamthewitness.com/doc/RothschildsTimeline-filer/frame.htm

After you read the whole thing come back and we can have an informed conversation, ok?

What Israel does with it's country is their business. When they interfere with the U.S. it's my business. My attitudes will remain flexible with respect to Israel, but for now they are generally negative. Carter is right to step forward and shed light on the U.S., Israeli, rightist extremist agenda.

I wish he would do the same with respect to American Indians since he inherited land stolen of the Cherokees. I suppose honesty only goes so far.

Every day for decades and decades The Jews kill 3 one day, 8 the next, 20 the next; Piles of bodies

AND PILES OF BODIES

AND PILES OF BODIES; Dead Babies in One Pile, Dead Women in another pile, Children to Be Tortured in This Line.

Hi Israel! How's it feel to be HATED by Planet Earth?

Mr. Carter wants to talk. Isn't that better than bombs?

May I suggest reading the book, 'The Case Against Israel' by Michael Neumann.

Rumiluv: Don't hold your breath with Obama and defininitely not with Clinton or McCain. The three of them would rather start WW3 on Israel's behalf, then speak the truth about the Zionist agenda.

Jimmy Carter (I voted for him twice) is a brave man and is to be commended for trying to bring peace into the world.

Israel, the U.S. and many European states ostracised the Hamas government which was formed after the Islamic movement won parliamentary elections in January 2006 and refused to accede to three demands laid down by the international community — recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence, and acknowledgement of previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

WHEN WILL ISRAEL AGREE TO RECOGNIZE PALISTINE, RENOUNCE VIOLENCE (INCLUDING BULLDOZING) AND ACKNOWLEDGE PREVIOUS PEACE AGREEMENTS WITH ALL ITS NEIGHBOURS??

I guess Israel and the USA prefer the "Nah-nah-nah nah-nah, I can't hear you" approach to diplomacy

Israel is a sick and pathetic bully. We support them because of the Jewish lobby and the foot hold they give us in the region. It was a mistake to let them steal the Palestinians land after WWII. Truman said they did it because of the holocaust. That is the lamest excuse I think I have ever heard. The Palestinians are not German, why punish the Palestinians by giving the Jews their land? It makes no sense. When things make no sense, you can rightfully suspect that there is some other set of reasons, a hidden agenda that is not so hidden after all.

That's my main man from Jawja ~ PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter. Hmmm, there's not a single occupant of that office since him, worthy of the title.

We need to stop funding the racist, apartheid regime that calls itself "Israel."

@ Big Bad Bob,

You wrote:

"Now we can see why Hitler was on the right track.They created their own problem by wanting to control the money and the people in Germany. "

WTF?

I cannot tell if you are a rightwing Zionist trying to make all critics of Israel look like Nazis, or if you are a neo-Nazi, just being stupidly provocative.

At the end of WWII, many people were horrified at the scale of the violence, including the massive, systematic extermination of European Jewry, and said "Never Again!" People of big hearts, including many in the Jewish community, meant by this, "Never Again shall we allow one group of people to commit horrible crimes against another."

But some in the Jewish community, twisted perhaps by fear and atavistic feelings, had shrunked hearts and symapthies that only extended to their fellow Jews. And even then, only to Jews that felt like they did, For them, "Never Again!" meant that never again will it be the Jews who are on the ground with an oppressor's boot on their neck. And they were quick to believe that Jewish safety and Jewish dreams would require (or permit) Jews to place their jackboots on the necks of others, less fortunate and more vulnerable than them.

Carter is an impressive ex-President. Where Bill Clinton has parlayed his fame into a lucrative business consulting, powerbrokerage that has netted him $109 million in the past 10 years, Carter has thrown himself into Habitat for Humanity, worldwide election-monitoring (including pronouncing elections as "fair" even when the people vote AGAINST the demands of the US government) and actively promoting peace proposals.

Those who want to credit him for being a "good Christian," well, I guess his values ARE deeply rooted in his faith. But please recognize that one can also work hard for peace as a "good Jew" or a "good Muslim" or even a "good atheist."

And may the great Flying Spaghetti Monster" bless Ha'aretz for continuing to allow more free debate and criticism over Israel's policies than is EVER allowed in the so-called "free press" in the United States. Carter is demonized here, academics lose their jobs for daring to criticize Israel and politicians of both major political parties cower in fear for risk of offending the Israel Lobby.

Even in the American Jewish community, where most Jews are pretty critical of Israel's policies, the hardline Zionists dominate and intimidate people from speaking up honestly. "Speak truth to Power," of course. But speak truth to power within our own communities, against our own "tribal leaders" who are trying to suppress internal democracy and rob us of our moral authority.

I recognize that many folks posting on CD have suffered from a stunted political education. That is a result of American popular culture that trains us to avoid talking politics--it's not polte. I also recognize that many people are recent converts to anti-Zionism and like many converts are a bit over-zealous. But, please, if we are to have meaningful discussions of the problems of US policy in the Middle-East, progressive Jews must be a part of the discussion. Indeed, I would argue that progressive Jews should be at the center of the discussion. Not just a few outstanding advocates, like Noam Chomsky, Michael Neuman and Norm Finkelstein, et al., but Jews must force this discussion in all the temples and Jewish community organizations. The hard right is NOT representative of American Jewish opinion and they must be challenged. Every Jewish community and Jewish organization should become "contested terrain" for the soul of Judaism.

And the juvenile comparisons of Israel to the Nazis here on Common Dreams do not help forward such a discussion. Do not think that you have to say such things for fear that they will otherwise not be heard. Within the Jewish community, there are many people who are saddened that Israel's policies and tactics are disturbingly similar to those of the Nazis.

Jimmy Carter IS a mensch and a true friend to Jews. Tom Delay, Newt Gingrich, Pat Robertson, George Bush and John McCain are NOT. Hell, they are all anti-semites and that cannot be said (fairly) against Jimmy Carter.

Kolea - "I recognize that many folks posting on CD have suffered from a stunted political education."
Forgive me, but this seems to smack of arrogance. There is often a comparison drawn, between the actions of the IDF and Nazis (Waffen SS/Stormtroopers), but this has surely been caused by the actions of the Israeli military, which by any standards shows disproportionate use of force.
Jimmy Carter, by his words can only be seen as a true diplomat and statesman by all reasonable people. I would suggest that the Zionists are not reasonable, and are not capable of compromise, forgiveness or peace.
I have just found this very disturbing article in Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/975574.html

Israel has no right of any kind to say so much as one word to Carter. Carter is a visionary; a man of peace.
Israel is an agressive and warlike country. They practice the politics of genocide and apartheid. No one cares what Israel has to say. Those days are clearly over with.

While the official line from Israel is "bad Jimmy Carter," there is a certain wink and a nod going on. What's irking Israel more than anything is that Carter is dealing with Hammas and others out in the open instead of in the shadows, the "back channels."

See, it's all about saving face. Saving lives is secondary to saving face. Such is diplomacy.

By the way, Rabin was probably the best Israeli president working with the Palestinians in an effort to stop the violence and try to work out an equitable agreement for both groups. Did a Palestinian kill him? Indeed not. It was a rabid Zionist fanatic pulling the trigger.

You can only cry wolf for so long before the world realizes the game plan.

Kolea-- I appreciated your comment.

However, this isn't the first time I've read comments deploring the invocation of the Nazi regime vis-à-vis the government of the State of Israel. You may characterize it as "juvenile", as others find it "unhelpful", "unfortunate", "anti-Semitic", etc.

FWIW, this parallel is not something I make lightly, and the term "Reich of Zion" practically forced itself upon me as a necessary and fitting term for the genocidish (see previous comment) elements of the government, military, and populace, as distinct from the State of Israel and its citizens-- who, like most hapless US citizens, are by no means "good Zionists" and do not deserve the collective guilt, or guilt by association, imposed by the Reich.

If I were part of a negotiation team, I certainly would refrain from employing such incendiary terms. But in general, I am not given to euphemism and don't feel compelled to give the reprehensible oppressors of the Palestinian people-- and the murderers of Rachel Corrie and others-- the benefit of more conciliatory or inoffensive terms.

I don't use the term "Reich of Zion" to indicate a one-to-one correspondence to the infamous Third Reich. But I do view the State of Israel as a misbegotten child of the Third Reich and the Holocaust, and I believe that the tragic truth is that Israel became what it beheld, mutatis mutandis.

I realize that the comparison is perceived as merely a gratuitous cheap shot, but in my case it's far from gratuitous.

I admire Carter for having the guts to stand up for what he believes is right and wrong. That's more than I can say for 99% of the people in this country. The only reason we even support these thugs is because they are linked to that mythical book the Bible. It's in keeping with the Judeo-Christian belief's that we defend these thugs. They stole someone else's country and are now whining because they are having to defend it! We should have never recognized them as a nation in the 40's when they stole it. It's meant nothing but misery for this country. I don't have a gram of sympathy left for them. They have gotten exactly what they asked for.

Fascinating to watch the Israeli trolls come out on an article like this one.

I've got one hell of a lot of respect for Jimmy Carter. More for what he's done after he was President than his Presidency. Although, by the low standards of all how have followed after him, those days look pretty damn good too.

The Israeli reaction says wonders about that nation. Someone who's dedicated the latter part of his life to helping people reach peace and justice visits their area. He proposes the amazing step of actually talking to all of the parties involved. And the Israelis go @#$@# bonkers over it.

Whenever you see a group trying to say that certain people can't be talked to or listened to, then that should be a key that you should go talk to those people and find out what it is that they are so afraid of your hearing.

If the Jews are in fact GOD's chosen people as stated in the Bible, then why do they need American money and American guns and American airplanes to defend themselves? GOD is all powerful, surely they don't need us if they have GOD on their side. Save our recources and let GOD take care of Isreal!

Our support of Israel is just fueling the Islamic jihad fire. James Earl Carter knows this, others can only hope to be as wise some day. We are seen as being on a Christian crusade with Israel as the point of the spear. As long as we push for control of that region, jihad will continue.

This country talks about its national interests. Ever since FDR met with the Saudi leadership in the 1930s and traded protection for oil, the deal was made. Our national interests were for oil and to stop communist expansion. Now they are for oil and China makes deals for oil to fuel their growth. China is still a communist country, or have we forgotten that every time we buy a product at Walmart.

Just because the wall fell, that does not mean that the game is over. There are neo con enclaves planning the next adventure in Iran. The grand plan is that if we can control Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, we can secure our future for the next 50 years. Those are out national interests.

way to go jimmy carter

you and obama would be a good honest team

no more money to israel

killers of children

your so called leaders belong in the hague with a bunch of american war mongers locked to ya...

food water shelter is what we all need

On my block here in a small town in Minnesota there were two families who did not get along at all. Loud voices, property line disputes ( costly court cases that never settled anything ), now and then some damage was done to one another's things. That went on for over 40 years. One man like Jimmy Carter, we will call him Fred H., did his best while on the city council to bring the two familes into some kind of harmony. They joined in yelling at him. He was attacked by one of the families, struck in the face. But Fred never gave up. The last few years before they all started to pass away there was some peace. What a shame not sooner. Now most are gone, the ones left from the remaining family have found new foes. New nasty words over property lines. What a shame. Jimmy Carter cannot give up trying.

Maybe Carter is trying to make up for all the Salvadorians and Afghanis he helped murder.

I would hate having Israel for a neighbor, especially with the terrorist leaders in power now. Olmert, Barak, and Netanyahu are completely belligerent, and as long as the majority of Israelis do NOTHING to reign in their terrorist leaders (64% support direct talks with Hamas), Israel will know no peace.

I, for one, used to be an apologist for Israel, but no more! The Israeli terrorist leaders are good at building walls and lobbying Washington, but they can't live with their neighbors or even respect an old friend, President Carter. Because they are sick men, I pity the Israeli terrorist leaders and the Israelis and Palestinians who must interact with them.

Kolea, you hit the nail on the head:

"But, please, if we are to have meaningful discussions of the problems of US policy in the Middle-East, progressive Jews must be a part of the discussion. Indeed, I would argue that progressive Jews should be at the center of the discussion. Not just a few outstanding advocates, like Noam Chomsky, Michael Neuman and Norm Finkelstein, et al., but Jews must force this discussion in all the temples and Jewish community organizations. The hard right is NOT representative of American Jewish opinion and they must be challenged. Every Jewish community and Jewish organization should become "contested terrain" for the soul of Judaism."

Zionists have no right to speak for people of the Jewish faith because their actions go against Jewish religious beliefs. The link below explains my statement fully:

http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com/zionism/notjews.cfm

Carter is a great statesman and performed much better than all the present warmongers in the US and in Israel not to mention European nonexistent policy. He is a man of great courage and deserves all our respect. He has no other agenda than peace in the world. For once that an American politician does not preach war and is not influenced by the Israeli lobby, all we can say is :"bravo Jimmy Carter"

JCONSULT: Well said! On Thursday's edition of DEMOCRACY NOW! with Amy Goodman, she quoted from an Israeli newspaper Benjamin Netanyahu saying the 9/11 attack was good for Israel andwithin seconds, the program went blank for a minute or two. Then Amy was on another subject. How many of you saw or listened to that broadcast, and was it technical difficulty or could that segment be jammed?

Paulmagillsmith is the one who needs a history lesson. I suggest that he reads Ilan Pappe's The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Pappe is an Israeli historian, a brave and honorable man who was forced to leave Israel because of death threats to himself and his family

Only one voice of reason and sense of humanity: That's Carter and always has been the one voice in our government ([present and former) that expresses communication and fairness. The Israelites should be ashamed and when are we going to stop sending them so much money and weapons. As usual, Carter is more like a voice in the wilderness just as he was when in office. Unlike most of the former and present Presidents,
Carter aims to help Americans and to find common ground with all nations. He makes Bush seem like such a dope because talking with both the Palestines and Jews is what Bush should have done.

Peter Hirschberg doesn't represent the majority of American Jews who want peace in the middle east. The Arabs also have a right to exist, but they need to use birth control.

Shaloo Shalom Yerushalim, Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel, for all of G_D's Children...

I am deeply moved by Jimmy Carter's honesty, courage, integrity, compassion, willingness to put his life on the line for humanity, for peace. What a rare and precious gem he is. What an inspiration. What a shining example of that which is highest and most beautiful in humankind.

Jimmy, you give my heart hope in a time when things seem so overwhelmingly dark, corrupt, hopeless. I pray that your efforts are successful—that PEACE will be attained. And I thank you with all my heart.