As Jonathan wrote earlier today, former President Jimmy Carter has been granted a prime-time speaking role at the upcoming Democratic National Convention, despite his history of anti-Israel activism and objections from liberal Jewish groups. Both the National Jewish Democratic Council and Anti-Defamation League Director Abraham Foxman criticized Carter’s convention role in comments to “Contentions” today.
“He is flawed, he’s got an obsession with Israel, a biased obsession that borders on anti-Semitism,” said Foxman. “So that’s not somebody I think should grace the podium of a national convention.”
Foxman added that Carter probably lobbied organizers for the speaking role, putting the DNC in an awkward position. “I don’t think he deserves to be there, except it’s hard to refuse a platform to a former living president especially when he asks for it,” said Foxman.
NJDC President and CEO David Harris also unloaded on Carter in an emailed statement.
“When it comes to Israel and the Middle East, President Carter has unfortunately embarrassed himself — as his analysis and commentary has been stubbornly wrong, harmful to the peace process, and getting worse all the time,” said Harris. “I’m confident that he won’t be speaking to the Party about Middle East policy.”
Harris added: “I’d like to know if Senator Rand Paul will be spreading his views of the Middle East and foreign aid in Tampa.”
While Harris and Foxman expect Carter to stay away from Middle East issues in his speech, it sounds like the former president will be weighing in on foreign policy. The DNC said in a statement today that Carter will address “unique insights about President Obama as a global leader.” The DNC also called the former president, who has supported conspiratorial theories about the Israel lobby, “one of the greatest humanitarian leaders of our time and a champion of democracy around the globe.” Carter will give his speech via satellite during a “prime-time” slot, according to the DNC.
What's the problem? Carter perfectly represents the Dem. Party. Why shouldn't he speak? Give him the keynote. He and Obama are two peas in a pod…
Jimmy Carters' views conform perfectly with that of the Democratic party. What's your problem?
Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama are on the same page. The president is simply more discrete. He has been trained to hide his real agenda by employing Saul Alinsky style rhetoric. Carter is too blunt for his own good.
There is no longer any sense or reason why any non-insane Jewish American voter should be a Democrat no matter how they feel about the GOP. Period. Jimmy Carter is a bigot, a racist, an antisemite and a paid apologist for Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Iranian Nukes will have "Jimmy Carter" written on them. n nNever, EVER forget that Jimmy Carter gave us Iran as we know it today. It wasn't just allowing our embassy to be taken and our diplomatic staff to be held hostage for 444 days — the "radical students" released them when Reagan took office because they kinda knew what would happen if they didn't. n nNot unlike Mubarak in Egypt, the Shah of Iran — Reza Pahlavi — was no Boy Scout. Both were brutal leaders of brutal countries, but both dictators (which is what they were) were friends of the United States in a region where a lot of folks would wish us ill. Jimmy Carter encouraged the Iranian Revolution, circa 1978, and Ruhollah Khomeini went from being a nobody exiled in France to the face of modern Islam. n nJimmy Carter made the Iran we know and fear today. Had Ronald Reagan won the nomination in 1976 and or Gerry Ford won the general election — had Carter not had his infamous one term (77-81), Israel wouldn't be at risk of nuclear incineration today because the theocratic state of Iran wouldn't have been formed in the late '70s and a whole lot of other messes over there wouldn't have come to exist. n nIf Iran gets a nuke, it will because Jimmy Carter was president once.