Democratic leaders: Carter wrong on Israel

Carter

Does Jimmy Carter represent the Democratic Party's view on Israel? Carter - who's about to publish a book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid - is quoted as saying that he represents "the vast majority of the Democrats." But House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi begs to differ (I wrote about the new book a couple of days ago).

She issued a statement regarding Jimmy Carter's new book saying: "With all due respect to former President Carter, he does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel. Democrats have been steadfast in their support of Israel from its birth, in part because we recognize that to do so is in the national security interests of the United States. We stand with Israel now and we stand with Israel forever? 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."


Democrats

54% of the Jewish population defining themselves as Democrats, according to the new AJC poll, but the same percentage, 54%, see themselves as slightly liberal, moderate or slightly conservative. This means that the Jewish community is more centrist than one might think, and will not tolerate a Party in which the extremists rule. Pelosi knows it and so does Howard Dean, who issued a similar statement regarding Carter's book: "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. 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."

Israel

That's one of the reasons for which Israeli analysts and policy makers do not perceive the expected victory of the Democratic Party in the Midterms to be a problem for Israel. They think that Congress will stay as supportive as it is now. Since it seems as though Joe Lieberman is on his way to winning in Connecticut, some of them feel that the trend toward a more leftist party - the trend that propelled Ned Lamont to the candidacy - is toning down.