Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Jimmy Carter On Israel, Circa 1976

Here's how Jimmy Carter thought about Israel back in 1976 (quote from Meet The Press):


12/3/2006
Jimmy Carter on Meet the Press
Videotape, January 11, 1976)

GOV. JIMMY CARTER (D-GA): I think when we get down to the last stages of solving the Middle Eastern question, which I hope we can do in the future, the recognition of the Palestinians as an entity with the right to have their own nation, to choose their own government, to exist in a territory, possibly on the West Bank and maybe the East Bank of the Jordan, is an integral part of an ultimate solution.

I would not recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the PLO, nor their leaders under any circumstances, diplomatically, until they recognize the right of Israel to exist in peace in their present location in the Far East—in the Middle East.

I think that ultimately Israel might have to withdraw to—from some of the boundaries, toward their 1967 boundaries. There’s some that I would not cede if I were the premier of Israel. One would be control of the Syrians—by the Syrians of the Golan Heights and I would not relinquish control of the, of the Jewish and Christian worship places in Jerusalem, but I think the recognition of the Palestinians as an entity and as a nation will be an integral part of the future of Middle Eastern settlement.
(End videotape)


His opinion seems to be entirely different now. Now, he does insist that Israel withdraw to its 1967 borders, that it cede the Golan Heights, and he even insists on the Palestinian "Right of Return" which would flood Israel proper with millions of "Palestinian refugees" ending Israel's status as a Jewish state.

Now, of course, everyone has a right to change their mind over the course of a lifetime. But, why do you think Carter's has changed so drastically on this issue?

Could it be the Arab money which funds the Carter Center?

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