This article was posted elsewhere in DU and made the Greatest Page.
Below was my response, recopied here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=252512&mesg_id=252659I cannot even believe this thread made the "Greatest" page.
This book has been widely criticized for containing numerous factual errors,
and allegations of plagiarism have even been leveled against Carter for the unauthorized reproduction of maps originally drawn by Dennis Ross.
Never again will Jimmy Carter be seen as someone who can be considered an honest broker for the Middle East situation.
I am disappointed that such a controversial book is being received so positively here on DU.
Unfortunately, after seeing how badly Israel regularly gets demonized on the I/P forum at DU, I am not surprised.
As for this Nation article, it is completely biased against Israel as well.
Nowhere in the article does it mention that the security fence was built solely with the intention of stopping terrorist attacks against Israelis. It has been extremely effective in saving lives, by the way.
Nowhere in the article does it mention that Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and continutally calls for Israel's destruction. Hamas does not want peace, they want to drive Jews into the sea.
Nowhere in the article does it mention the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks from Gaza on Sderot, even during a "cease-fire".
Nowhere in the article does it mention the huge problem of arms smuggling into Gaza, forcing Israel to keep a tight seal on the border. It has been reported that Hamas is trying to build up their arms so they could replicate what Hezbollah has done in their efforts to destroy Israel.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza was brought on by the Palestinians themselves. Had the Palestinians recognized Israel's right to exist in peace and accepted the presence of a Jewish state, the Palestinians would probably have their own state by now "living side by side in peace". But instead they chose the route of terror and the election of Hamas, a reknowned terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel to be replaced by a fundamentalist Islamic state.
Hedges's quote: "Many Democratic Party leaders, anxious to keep the Israel lobby's money and support, have hotfooted it out the door, with incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing that Carter "does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel."
clearly can be considered antisemitic by insinuating that the Israel lobby has so much power that it can have inordinate influence on US policy and the electorate.
Please people, learn the history of the Middle East from more balanced sources, not from this poor example of revisionist fiction.
Rating threads like this up and promoting Carter's book will only hurt the image of the Democratic Party.
Ironically, it will end up hurting the Palestinians the most because they will become even more entrenched in their idealism and not recognize their need to change in order to help bring peace to the region.