The Lobby's Blitzkrieg, Part 1

The goose-stepping footsoldiers of the Israel Lobby have their marching orders. Order #1: Prohibit any criticism of Israel, including any discussion of Israel's occupation of Palestine. Order #2: Crucify those who disobey Order #1. President Jimmy Carter is the Lobby's latest victim. Carter had the audacity to publish his observations of conditions in Israeli-occupied Palestine. (See "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid") He has thus been branded a bigot, a fabricator, a plagiarist, a liar, a dangerous terrorist-abetter, and of course, an anti-Semite. Defense attorney Alan Dershowitz called Carter's book "indecent" and plans to confront him when Carter addresses students and faculty at Brandeis later this month. The speech is not open to the public except for Dershowitz, it appears. Dershowitz vows, "This will be the toughest encounter he has ever had in his professional career." (The Boston Globe, 1/11/07) Carter has written, "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..." (Los Angeles Times 12/8/06) In this country all those who discuss the plight of the Palestinians are called anti-Semites unless they are Jewish. In that case, they're called "self-hating Jews." In other words, Jews who uphold the high moral precepts of Judaism should hate themselves. One gets the impression that the venomous Lobby is hoping the 82-year-old former president has a heart attack on the Brandeis podium.