An Open Letter to Jimmy Carter
Dear Mr (Former) President:
As this is written, you are en route to visit Khaled Mashaal, leader of Hamas, in Damascus. The United States and the European Union have refused to deal with Hamas until the group accepts the existence of Israel and renounces terrorism, but you are not letting these minor problems obstruct your relationship with Mr Mashaal.
Your confidence in the goodwill of Islamic fanatics is legendary. When you were President, mobs marched through the streets of Tehran chanting "Margh bar Carter!" (Death to Carter). Despite the obvious threats to your embassy there (1), you kept the diplomatic staff at their posts until they were taken hostage by Iranian terrorists. The Iran Hostage Crisis was a major factor in your loss of the presidency the next year .
History will consider your brokerage of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1979 the high point of your presidency. For that, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt lost his life in 1981; even so, his successor has kept the peace for over 25 years.
Making peace between Israel and Hamas will be much more difficult, however, since the Islamic Resistance group does not want peace. Not only do they call for the destruction of Israel in words, but they launch rockets at Sderot and other locations near Gaza every day.
I earnestly hope that you are able to persuade Mr Mashaal to change the attitude of his organization. But if your kind words are not effective, there is a step you can take that will reduce violence in the Middle East at once: Move to Sderot!
There is plenty of vacant housing in Sderot, as thousands of residents have left in the past year. You could move from house to house on a random basis, so that the rocket launchers would not dare to fire at the city for fear of hitting you! For all you have done for the Palestinian cause, the least Hamas could do for you is to desist from putting you in harm's way. There would then be no need for Israeli military operations in Gaza, so Palestinian lives will also be saved. Perhaps a long-term truce could lead to peace!
I am sure that Israeli President Shimon Peres, who shares your confidence in the Arab yearning for peace, could arrange office space for the Carter Center in Sderot, equipped with state-of-the-art telecommunications, so you could continue your worldwide activities from there. Just think of the dusty town as "Plains, Israel."
But what if the rockets keep coming anyway, and one (G-d forbid) "takes you out"? You weren't going to live forever anyway, and this way you will have given your life for the cause of peace in the Middle East. What a legacy!
Sincerely yours.
/s/
Gerald S Glazer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Israel closed and evacuated its embassy in Tehran when the Shah abdicated in early 1979. Both the American and British embassies were raided by mobs months before the takeover of the US Embassy in November.
As this is written, you are en route to visit Khaled Mashaal, leader of Hamas, in Damascus. The United States and the European Union have refused to deal with Hamas until the group accepts the existence of Israel and renounces terrorism, but you are not letting these minor problems obstruct your relationship with Mr Mashaal.
Your confidence in the goodwill of Islamic fanatics is legendary. When you were President, mobs marched through the streets of Tehran chanting "Margh bar Carter!" (Death to Carter). Despite the obvious threats to your embassy there (1), you kept the diplomatic staff at their posts until they were taken hostage by Iranian terrorists. The Iran Hostage Crisis was a major factor in your loss of the presidency the next year .
History will consider your brokerage of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1979 the high point of your presidency. For that, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt lost his life in 1981; even so, his successor has kept the peace for over 25 years.
Making peace between Israel and Hamas will be much more difficult, however, since the Islamic Resistance group does not want peace. Not only do they call for the destruction of Israel in words, but they launch rockets at Sderot and other locations near Gaza every day.
I earnestly hope that you are able to persuade Mr Mashaal to change the attitude of his organization. But if your kind words are not effective, there is a step you can take that will reduce violence in the Middle East at once: Move to Sderot!
There is plenty of vacant housing in Sderot, as thousands of residents have left in the past year. You could move from house to house on a random basis, so that the rocket launchers would not dare to fire at the city for fear of hitting you! For all you have done for the Palestinian cause, the least Hamas could do for you is to desist from putting you in harm's way. There would then be no need for Israeli military operations in Gaza, so Palestinian lives will also be saved. Perhaps a long-term truce could lead to peace!
I am sure that Israeli President Shimon Peres, who shares your confidence in the Arab yearning for peace, could arrange office space for the Carter Center in Sderot, equipped with state-of-the-art telecommunications, so you could continue your worldwide activities from there. Just think of the dusty town as "Plains, Israel."
But what if the rockets keep coming anyway, and one (G-d forbid) "takes you out"? You weren't going to live forever anyway, and this way you will have given your life for the cause of peace in the Middle East. What a legacy!
Sincerely yours.
/s/
Gerald S Glazer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Israel closed and evacuated its embassy in Tehran when the Shah abdicated in early 1979. Both the American and British embassies were raided by mobs months before the takeover of the US Embassy in November.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 8:40 AM
1 comments
