[AGL] FW: pass this to mikey at your peril

[Jon Ford]

Mike-- I pass this on from Ramsey to illustrate his position on Israel and 
Judaism, about which you have previously commented. He certainly is 
consistent!

Jon


>From: Ramsey Wiggins <ramseywiggins at AUSTIN.RR.COM>
>Reply-To: Remembrances of Austin Ghetto <GHETTO2 at LISTS.WHATHELPS.COM>
>To: GHETTO2 at LISTS.WHATHELPS.COM
>Subject: pass this to mikey at your peril
>Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2006 11:29:21 -0600
>
>Dems Repudiate Carter Book
>
>Jennifer Siegel | Fri. Oct 27, 2006
>
>http://www.forward.com/articles/dems-repudiate-carter-book/
>
>Top Democrats are rushing to repudiate former President Carter's
>controversial new book on the Middle East, in which he accuses the Israeli
>government of maintaining an apartheid system.
>Article tool
>
>
>Two key party leaders — Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean,
>party chairman, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — and several
>congressmen issued statements Monday saying that the book, "Palestine: 
>Peace
>Not Apartheid," does not represent their views on the Jewish state.
>
>"It is wrong to suggest that the Jewish people would support a government 
>in
>Israel or anywhere else that institutionalizes ethnically based oppression,
>and Democrats reject that allegation vigorously," Pelosi wrote in a
>statement. "With all due respect to former President Carter, he does not
>speak for the Democratic Party on Israel."
>
>Carter's book is being published by Simon & Schuster and is slated for
>release November 14. In an advanced draft copy of the work, obtained by the
>Forward, the former president asserts that Israel's current policies in the
>Palestinian territories constitute "a system of apartheid, with two peoples
>occupying the same land but completely separated from each other, with
>Israelis totally dominant and suppressing violence by depriving 
>Palestinians
>of their basic human rights." He argues that Israel's settlement policy is
>principally to blame for the failure of peace initiatives in the Middle
>East.
>
>Dean also took issue with Carter's assessment.
>
>"While I have tremendous respect for former President Carter, I
>fundamentally disagree and do not support his analysis of Israel and the
>Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Dean wrote in a statement. "On this issue
>President Carter speaks for himself, the opinions in his book are his own,
>they are not the views or position of the Democratic Party. I and other
>Democrats will continue to stand with Israel in its battle against 
>terrorism
>and for a lasting peace with its neighbors."
>
>Several Democratic members of New York's House delegation — Reps. Steve
>Israel, Charlie Rangel and Jerrold Nadler — also have issued statements
>criticizing Carter's book, as did Rep. John Conyers, Jr., a Michigan
>Democrat who is often criticized by members of the Jewish community for his
>failure to support Israel in a certain instance. Last summer, Conyers was
>one of eight House members who did not vote for a resolution backing the
>Jewish state in the wake of the Hezbollah attacks.
>
>In his statement, Conyers said that Carter's use of the word "apartheid"
>went too far.
>
>"I cannot agree with the book's title and its implications about 
>apartheid,"
>the lawmaker wrote in a statement. "I recently called the former president
>to express my concerns about the title of the book, and to request that the
>title be changed."

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