The Alawites and the Future of Syria

Assad and the Alawites cannot give in. They are fighting for their very existence. The only way to end this civil war is to let them have control over their destiny -- either as an autonomous region in Syria or as an independent entity.

The Alawites are a small, historically oppressed people, whose political future will determine whether Syria remains united in some form or disintegrates into even smaller ethnic and religious entities.
As they will play such an important role, America, Israel, and other forces interested in the future of Syria might do well to get to know them, their concerns, and how others can best come to terms with them.
Syria's non-Sunnis have historically lived in apprehension of what the Sunnis might do to them. Although Arab Sunnis are the largest religio-ethnic group in Syria, non-Sunni Arabs make up upwards of 40% of the population. Historically, until the end of Ottoman rule after World War I, the Sunnis assumed they were the region's natural rulers, and by and large controlled the destinies of the large numbers of non-Sunnis who lived among them. The non-Sunnis seem to have "known their place" in Syrian society – second class citizens. The Sunnis determined the rules.
In the 19th century, Western concepts of nationalism and equality for all people began to appear in the Middle East. The idea that everyone – irrespective of ethnicity or religion – is equal before the law has seemed anathema to the Sunnis: such an idea would contradict the basic Islamic principle that non-Muslims – known as dhimmis, or second-class, barely-tolerated citizens – could live in an Islamic society only if they accepted their place as unequal and unworthy of political and social equality. However, even though all Sunnis might consider themselves equal, in reality, clans, tribes, or ethnic identities, not to mention gender, usually prevail.
After World War I, when the French ruled Syria, they tried to introduce the concept of equality of all people before the law – a principle that never took root. During French rule, the people today known as Alawites – and who today rule Syria – begged the French to allow them to set up their own state in their ancient homeland along the Mediterranean coast between today's Lebanon and Turkey. One of those who most passionately supported this option was the grandfather of the ruler of Syria today: Suleyman al-Assad.
This is because Syrian Sunnis have historically referred to individual Alawites as "abid" [slave], and treated the Alawites as such. The Alawites were servants in Sunni households. Alawite tradition is filled with horror stories of Sunni abuse, both working in Sunni households and in other areas of as well.
The Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, were terribly discriminated against under Sunni rule. The Sunnis attitude towards the Alawites – and towards the other non-Muslims – was "noblesse oblige," or an attitude of condescension, if not outright hostility.
According to Alawite religious beliefs, the Muslim prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law – Ali – was a deity. That a human could be a deity is anathema in Islam. Moreover, even though Christians are officially regarded as dhimmis, or second-class citizens, by the Muslims, many also refer to Christians as pagans: Christians deify Jesus who, in Muslim eyes, was a merely a prophet, born to a human mother and father.
Under the French and in the early years of Syrian independence after 1946, wealthy and respectable Sunnis did not want to have their sons serve in the military. Their Alawite servants, however, recognizing the military as a way to advance, persuaded their Sunni masters to sign recommendations to allow the children of their Alawite servants enter the military. Gradually, the Alawites rose in the ranks. Eventually in 1966, they overthrew the existing order to took over the country, and have dominated it since.
Many of these military officers, like their Christian counterparts, embraced Arab nationalism, perhaps hoping through nationalism to gain the equality that had eluded them in religion under the Sunni-dominated, society. These officers did their best to put their non-Sunni identities aside, and hoped – at times even demanded – that their Sunni fellow-Arabs do the same.
As the Alawites rose in the military, they also rose to senior positions in the Ba'ath Party, the basic tenant of which is militant Arab nationalism. But even as militant anti-Israeli Arab nationalists, these Alawites still feared that the majority-Sunnis would lie in wait, and pounce on the Alawites if the Alawites showed any weakness. The Alawites never allowed themselves forget that the Sunnis hated them; and that even though they controlled Syria, they had better come to an agreement with the leading Sunni families to provide them with stability and enable them to make money – in return for the Sunnis allowing the Alawites to control the country militarily and also make money.
During the so-called peace talks between Syria and Israel, the Alawites, according to their own admission, appointed Sunnis – and not Alawites – to negotiate with the Israelis – so that Alawites would not to be held responsible if any concessions were made to the Israelis. The Alawites were most likely concerned that if they had given in even ever so slightly to any Israeli requests, the Sunnis would have used that as an excuse to claim that the Alawites were not "true" Arabs.
Many Alawites have believed that the Arab-nationalist route of being accepted by the majority-Sunnis was doomed. According to discussions with people who have escaped Syria, as well as many still there, they feared, in their heart of hearts, that, just has the President Syrian President Assad's grandfather had warned, whatever they did, the Sunnis would never accept them. For these Alawites, the only solution would be a separate Alawite state, or entity, where they could control their destiny and not be under the dreaded Sunni yoke.
Many Alawites, who, quietly, had long opposed Assad's rule, are again, like Assad's grandfather in the 1930's, trying to put forward the idea of creating an independent Alawite state. Every day they can see around them that Middle Eastern culture places a high value on revenge, so that the Sunnis would never forgive them for having been ousted from power 46 years ago. The Alawites would be wise to fear that whatever happens in Syria, the Sunnis will massacre them for having governed Syria and for having killed so many Sunnis during the current war.
The concept of compromise simply does not exist in the Middle East – one either wins or loses. Compromise, because it invariably entails a partial loss, is evidently seen as bringing shame on oneself – to be avoided at all costs. Syria's Alawite regime therefore probably sees no alternative other than to keep fighting the Sunni-dominated opposition – which itself is succumbing to Turkish, Saudi, and Qatari-inspired Islamic fundamentalist leadership – and to try to ethnically cleanse the Alawite areas of all Sunnis in the hope of retreating to that area with the help of outside allies – be they Iranians, Russians, or other non-Sunni Arabs in the area – and barricading themselves in against the Sunnis.
Consequently, it is hard to imagine any settlement in which Syria remains a centralized and unified state. One could imagine local autonomous regions, where the Alawites could finally control their own destiny. Maybe other groups – such as the non-Arab Kurdish Sunnis in the north – might also have their own entities to throw off the yoke of Arab rule. Whatever the eventual outcome, the Kurds know that their Sunni Arab neighbors, even though they all share the same faith, will never let bygones be bygones. Just as the Muslims in general are relentless in pursuing Israel, they would never accept any solution where they do not eventually take over the entire area.
Therefore, if there is ever to be some sort of peace-like arrangement – albeit temporary – in what is Syria today, there is no way that Syria can remain a centralized state, with new rulers, whoever they might be, who would continue to oppress other Syrians . Of all the ethnic and religious groups in Syria, the Alawites have the most to lose, which they undoubtedly know and which is why they must have control over their own destiny. They would have no alternative other than to remain well-armed; if not, the Sunnis would again take them over and subject them to the slave-like status they had in the past.
Assad, therefore, cannot give in. He and the Alawites – whether they support or oppose Assad – are fighting for their very existence. They only way to end this civil war is to let them have control over their destiny – either as an autonomous region in Syria, or as an independent entity. Whatever happens, they will insist that they remain well-armed. They – like other minorities in the Middle East – will continue to live in eternal fear of the Arab Sunnis. As the concept of overlooking past grievances is alien to the culture of that region, true peace between the Alawites and the Arab Sunnis – or, for that matter, Arab Sunnis and non-Arab Sunnis – is sadly out of the question.

via gatestoneinstitute.org

Illinois Congressional Candidate Tammy Duckworth, Sporting Hijab, Denounced "Racism" at Chicago Jihad Bomb Plotter's School the Day After His Arrest

Was anyone watching the DNC and this Duckworth character as she pownced out on her mechanical legs to skewer for the guilt complex to any insight into why it might not be a good idea to have females in combat units. Surely a veteran who lost her legs no one would question... except me. It was an obvious emotional ploy. Just because we have victims does not justify changing the military to make more victims. We men just think women are better with legs because men are better at fighting... and guess what. Not only is this argument reasonable... it is also right. Women in combat units do not help our situation in Iraq. I could tell by the hidden pauses for a smirk on Duckworth's face that she wasn't done. She was going to use her token injury as a reason to hurt politically those who are conservative enough to of kept her out of the battle, hence would of denied her martyrdom. Now she's on to shill for Islam. How predictable

(Pamela Geller /Jihadwatch) How compromised are our politicians? This compromised. As reported at Atlas last Saturday, on Friday night a Muslim was arrested in Chicago after plotting to blow up a car bomb outside a crowded bar. According to ABC News, the would-be jihad murderer, Adel Daoud, 18, attended the Islamic Foundation School in Villa Park.
The very next day after the arrest, Illinois Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth went to speak at the Islamic cultural center in Villa Park, the same place where jihad killer wannabe Adel Daoud went to school. Did she tell the Muslims there that they needed to cooperate with anti-terror efforts and teach against the passages in the quran that call for killing and subjugating infidels? Did she tell them that the elements of sharia that deny the freedom of speech, and the freedom of conscience, and the equality of rights of all people would never be acceptable here, and would have to be discarded by Muslims in America?
No. Tammy Duckworth put on a hijab, and talked about how the growing minority population makes the white community uncomfortable, and how the whites would have to overcome their "racism." The executive director of the Chicago chapter of Hamas-CAIR, Ahmed Rehab, introduced her. That's how compromised our politicians are.

In an article last December in the Huffington Post, Ahmed Rehab of Hamas-linked CAIR claimed that the "Radical Right," not Islamic jihadists, were the greatest threat to America today. His article was full of the predictable whining, victimhood posturing, and no hint whatsoever that any Muslims are waging jihad against the United States.
The thuggish Rehab has also spoken up in defense of the Islamic supremacist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir's right to hold its convention in Chicago (Hizb-ut-Tahrir is banned in many countries), while working to suppress the freedom of speech of anti-jihadists. 

Gay shame

Israel is sort of participating in the 'gay pride' festival in Berlin in June. I say 'sort of' because like good dhimmis, Israel's participation will be entirely incognito.

Berlin Municipality invited Tel Aviv to take part in the main festival, which will be taking place ahead of the gay pride events. But the Israeli delegation decided to leave out any state symbols at the stand, as well as in any performances by Israeli artists taking part in the festival.
Thus, there will be no Israeli flags and the emphasis will be on Tel Aviv as a global city – pluralistic and liberal, which accepts members of the gay community no matter where they're from. Moreover, visitors to the festival will receive information about Tel Aviv which will include a map that highlights LGBT entertainment centers.
A source within the tourism industry told Ynet that "in the past it has been proven that the correct and smart way to 'export' Israel, especially these days, is through emphasizing brands it excels in, without using anything that symbolizes the state of Israel. Unfortunately, the Israeli flag or Star of David can cause antagonism among many."
The Tourism Ministry understands this new reality and explains: "Unfortunately, this is the smart way to market Israeli brands abroad." It should be mentioned that the ministry promotes some Israeli sites and destinations without mentioning the word Israel.

One would think that Israel would (and could) at least appeal for some credit from the gay community for being the only country in this region where gays are not the subjects of 'honor killings' just because they are gay. But sadly, that is not the case. And now that we have expediently rebranded Israel into something other than the Jewish state, we aren't even going to try to get credit for the things that we do for which other countries do get credit.
Now you all see why Carl of  israelmatzav.blogspot.com was (and remains) so angry with the Foreign Ministry's Brand Israel program when it was introduced to bloggers two and a half years ago. Israel's gay community should be ashamed of itself for accepting creating these terms of participation.

via israelmatzav.blogspot.com

The Gay Community on the international level should be ashamed of their behavior towards Jews.  This also makes it unbearable to be a gay Jew outside of Israel.

The secret cause of Israel's PR and image catastrophe

While I agree with Israel Matzav and Zionism-Israel that Israel will not solve anything by selling *T* and *A* to replace the Jewish homeland and repackage Israel as *Sexy*, *Rich* and *Vogue* ....I certainly see the point that any image can be co-opted and it is better to just be about Love, G-d, Community but I also have no problem with *SEXY ISRAEL* existing in parallel marketing, though I sincerely think it shouldn't be state financed because I don't think it is in the interests of Israel to turn itself into Los Vegas.

Russell Simmons FIGHTS for ISLAM. Says it's a Jewish thing

Russell Simmons:
Christians Bombed the WTC
in 1993

Simmons says the most Jewish thing you can do is fight Islamophobia and the most Islamic thing you can do is fight anti-semitism, but....“The Prophet says: ‘You shall fight the Jews and kill them’”
Book 041, Number 6985: Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.  via usc.edu

Posted via email from noahdavidsimon's posterous

via barenakedislam.wordpress.com & image via uvtblog.com  

Chirac to go on trial, maybe

 paybacks a bitch

Former French President Chirac to stand trial, maybe

That is, if the whole case isn’t derailed by a last-minute protest by another defendant.  If the trial goes ahead as planned, Chirac, 78, faces a month in court on charges that he masterminded a scheme to have Paris City Hall pay for work that benefited his political party when he was mayor — before he became president in 1995.  A prison term is seen as highly unlikely, but in principle if convicted, Chirac could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined euro150,000 ($210,000).  via faustasblog.com

What Makes Johnny Dhimmi Run Away?

Johnny Dhimmi may be President of a nation or a college, he may be Prime Minister or an Archbishop, he may be a corporate CEO or an army General. He does however have certain common denominators. He is not particularly smart or particularly honest, but he has mastered two core elements, people and organizations. Johnny Dhimmi is the Peter Principle come to life, promoted well and above his level of incompetence. In person Johnny Dhimmi is generally congenial but with a sharp sense of humor that usually expresses itself at someone else's expense. He is not successful at any actual job or task, but what he is successful at is networking and making connections and then using them to climb the next step of the ladder.

via sultanknish.blogspot.com

noahdavidsimon's posterous

USA Cheerleaders Wear Pants for Sharia

Just so we're all clear on the issue, THIS IS THE WAY A CHEERLEADER IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK: There’s been a lot of hype about the USA National Basketball Team playing Iran in the World Basketball Championship.  Tuesday, Team USA beat Iran, but with the PC pandering of “our” team, it’s as if we lost. Sadly, Team USA Coach Mike Krzyzewski and players were all too dhimmi-esque regarding Iran.  Barf.  Then, the cheerleaders had to wear long pants to respect Islam and Iran.  Double barf.

Coach K, Team USA, & Dancers
Dhimmi Up for Iran, Islam
via debbieschlussel.com
and ibloga.blogspot.com

I don't even like basketball. The Cheerleaders were all I had.
noahdavidsimon's posterous

Good Dhimmi — Winds Of Jihad By SheikYerMami

After threatening the remaining Armenian Christians in Turkey with genocide and expulsion, Islam0-Nazi Tayyip Erdogan gets an apology and a promise of loyalty from the representative of the remaining Armenians.

Turks loot the belongings of the Armenians before exterminating them…..

read the rest via sheikyermami.com

Israeli killed in Bolivia robbery - Israel News, Ynetnews

What the hell is wrong with some Jews that they are so liberal as to think they can just travel to countries that hate Israel? When they break off diplomatic ties it means don't go. Don't believe your stupid idiotic leftist friends about getting cultured. go buy one of those Rosetta Stone® (plug) DVDs from the book store and lie and say you went. Or come to the United States and spend your money on people who love you. There are plenty of places in the U.S. for you to practice your Spanish. That goes for idiot leftist American kids too. Don't let the hipsters make you think that travel is safe. It isn't. When your college says you need to broaden yourself, that means lie and say you went. Those college professors are the same idiots who blame Israel. Do you really think they mean to help you? Of course not. They are tenured trolls who probably are sleeping with whores when they travel.

Amit Arusi, a 24-year-old Israeli tourist visiting Bolivia, was stabbed to death in the capital La Paz Sunday night, apparently during a robbery. His family was notified of his death, and is in contact with the Foreign Ministry.

According to information received by the ministry, Arusi resisted a robbery, and was stabbed. The Foreign Ministry noted that since there are no diplomatic ties with Bolivia, the matter was being handed via the Israeli embassy in Peru.

Arusi's family told Ynet that he was stabbed while trying to defend his girlfriend from being assaulted by an unknown assailant.

The tourist's body is to undergo an autopsy before being flown back to Israel. The family is being updated on the details.

This is not the first time an Israeli tourist falls victim to a violent robbery abroad. Last year, 26-year-old Itai Shechter Elias of Ashkelon was shot to death by robbers in Costa Rica.

Elias was shot dead when he and his brother pleaded with the robbers not to take their passports.

Several weeks later a 23-year-old Israeli backpacker was shot in Bogota, Colombia. He survived the shooting. A friend who was traveling with the victim told Ynet at the time, "My friends were standing outside the club and heard gunshots. They must have been killing some criminal. My friend, who had nothing to do with it, got shot in the back.

"My friends ran to evacuate him to hospital in a taxi, but the driver would take them. They were forced to leave the area when he had a bullet in his back, and searched for a way to make it to the hospital. Eventually they got into a police car."

Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel during Operation Cast Lead
in Gaza last year. Bolivian President Evo Morales said at the time, "I would like to declare, that in light of the severe violations against human life and humanity, Bolivia is cutting diplomatic ties with Israel."

via ynetnews.com

Israel Pays the Jihad a Jiyza: it is Now Officilally a Dhimmi State - Atlas Shrugs

Now they are paying the jiyza to the Islamic (OIC) driven UN. To what end? For what? What are they buying? A five minute reprieve from the world's most reviled and bloodthirsty bully?

via atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com

So Sad, Too Bad: Egypt Thwarts Anti-Israel Americans’ Christmas Protest

Given that Palestinian Christians (and every other sort of Arab Christian) are under attack from the Muslims around them (as I detailed last week and do every Christmas), it’s kind of comical to read the story of Dorothy Ritter.

gosh I just love it when Debbie tells me these stories that have a happy ending ;-)

Israel-Hating Hags Dorothy Ritter & Kim Redigan Failed

Ritter, a Dearbornistan Christian “chick” (who looks like she has season tickets to the WNBA if ya know what I mean),

BAH WAH AH AH AH AHHA AHA!

...wasted her Christmas flying to the Gaza Strip to protest the “evil Zionist Israelis.” She went there not to protest the persecution, killings, bombings, and other violent attacks by Gaza Palestinian Muslims on Christians (which have driven almost all of the Palestinian Christians out of Gaza), but to protest Israel for “blockading” Gaza from getting terrorist supplies and reinforcements.

here is the proof that the people of Gaza are starving and suffering...

via israelmatzav.blogspot.com

If the animals in Gaza actually dared to stop their violent attacks and murders of innocent civilians, they wouldn’t be blockaded. This is war. You don’t help your sworn enemies blow you up.

But the joke was on this brushcut-encrusted Ellen-Degeneres-in-twenty-years-look-alike. After wasting Christmas and flying halfway around the world, she was prevented from engaging in her silly “protest” by the Egyptians. Same for Dearbornistan Heights-based Kim Redigan, another brushcut idiot who spent Christmas trying to protest against Israel, but failed epically.

So sad, too bad. I hope the falafel was good. . . and I wish them a pleasant Flight 253 back to Detroit, or better yet, a delicious “lunch in Tul Karem,” before they leave for home.

via debbieschlussel.com

I usually like to add something to these posts where I pretty much take another blog and reblog it, but I have nothing to add

other apologies I'd like to see Carter make

Jimmy Carter has consistently and falsely claimed that during the Camp David negotiations Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to a settlement freeze to last the duration of subsequent peace talks, and that Begin violated this unwritten agreement. via camera.org

For example, in an op-ed published in the Washington Post in 2000, Carter claimed:

Prime Minister Begin pledged that there would be no establishment of new settlements until after the final peace negotiations were completed. But later, under Likud pressure, he declined to honor this commitment, explaining that his presumption had been that all peace talks would be concluded within three months. (Washington Post, Nov. 26, 2000)

Carter makes a similar charge in his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, though with some subtle differences:

Sadat always insisted that the first priority must be adherence to U.N. Resolution 242 and self-determination for the Palestinians, and everyone (perhaps excepting Begin) was convinced that these rights had been protected in the final document. All of us (including the prime minister) were also confident that the final terms of the treaty would be concluded within the three-month target time. Everyone knew that if Israel began building new settlements, the promise to grant the Palestinians "full autonomy," with an equal or final voice in determining the ultimate status of the occupied territories, would be violated. Perhaps the most serious omission of the Camp David talks was the failure to clarify in writing Begin's verbal promise concerning the settlement freeze during subsequent peace talks. (p. 50; emphasis added)

While the first passage implies that it was Begin's expectation alone that the subsequent peace talks would be concluded within three months, the book passage indicates that all participants had that expectation. This contradiction aside, in both passages Carter clearly charges that Begin broke a promise to impose an open-ended settlement freeze.

Carter's long standing claims about the settlement freeze have been accepted by other experienced Middle East observers. For example, in an otherwise quite hostile review of the book in the New York Times, Ethan Bronner, a former Middle East correspondent for the Boston Globe, wrote:

To see the narrowness of Carter's perspective, it is worth returning to 1979, the year of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty that resulted from Carter's Camp David mediation as president, a hugely significant accomplishment. Carter rightly accuses Menachem Begin, then Israel's prime minister, of deception regarding the expansion of West Bank settlements. Begin promised to freeze the settlements. Not only did he not do so; he had no intention of doing so. (New York Times, Jan. 7, 2007)

But did Prime Minister Begin make such a promise to freeze the settlements, and then violate it? The answer is no he did not – Begin promised and delivered a three month freeze, and further, Jimmy Carter knows this.

Here's the proof. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Camp David Accords, the Carter Center on Sept.17, 2003 held a symposium in Washington, DC. Participants included Mr. Carter, Samuel Lewis, who had been the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, William Quandt, who had been a staffer on the National Security Council, and Aharon Barak, who had been Israel's Attorney General. Ambassador Lewis brought up the question of the settlement freeze, and Barak stated that he was in the relevant meeting, had been the only one taking notes, and that his notes showed that Begin had agreed only to a three month freeze. Off camera Carter is heard to state, "I don't dispute that." William Quandt then added that while he had not been in the meeting, Cyrus Vance, who had been, told him immediately afterwards that Begin had agreed to a three month freeze, but they hoped to get it lengthened the next day. Neither Carter, nor Barak, nor Quandt indicated that Begin had ever agreed to extend the freeze. Here's the sequence from the symposium:

So, confronted with the evidence in 2003 Jimmy Carter admitted that Begin had agreed to only a three month settlement freeze, but now Carter revives his false charge that Begin violated a promise to impose an open-ended freeze.

In doing so, Jimmy Carter is once again violating his promise never to lie to the American people.

via camera.org

Carter: Grandson’s race not reason enough to apologize | JTA - Jewish & Israel News

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Jimmy Carter is asking the Jewish community for forgiveness -- and insists it’s not simply because his grandson has decided to launch a political career with a run for the Georgia state Senate.

By Ron Kampeas · December 22, 2009

Jason Carter, 34, an Atlanta-area lawyer, is considering a run to fill a seat covering suburban DeKalb County should the incumbent, David Adelman, win confirmation as President Obama's designated ambassador to Singapore.

The seat, which is university heavy -- Emory, among others, is situated there -- also has a substantial Jewish community.

oh noes... quick think of something. do you think an apology will work? Would Jesus Apologize?

The senior Carter outraged Jewish leaders with his book “Palestine: Peace not Apartheid,” and they strongly criticized the former U.S. president for what appeared to be his likening of Israel's settlement practices to apartheid and seeming to place the brunt of the blame for a lack of peace on Israel.

well of course he had to apologize. we just got used to treating an X president like Pete Rose

On the subsequent book tour, Carter further enraged many Jews by intimating that the pro-Israel lobby inhibited an evenhanded U.S. policy.

would it be better if we just let you libel us?

Such bad blood could potentially translate into problems for Carter’s grandson as he considers launching a political career.

how Biblical. the son is responsible for the father. Collective punishment. no wonder Dhimmi Carter got scared

But in an interview with JTA, Carter insisted that ethnic electoral considerations were not reason enough to reach out to the Jewish community, although he did not outright deny that it was a factor.

ok... then detail what you did wrong Jimmy. the haters will only assume you are playing politics. go on Jimmy. the mike is yours right now

"Jason has a district, the number of Jewish voters in it is only 2 percent," he said, chuckling.

yes but those Jews are too powerful ;^) ...maybe it's because they aren't cowards like Jimmy

In a statement issued through his campaign manager, the younger Carter said the statement was not connected to his campaign.

so then explain what is going on with the family... and hey Carter exaplain why you didn't speak out against Grandpa.

"While I was very happy to see my grandfather's letter, it was completely unrelated to my campaign. The letter is a product of discussions with some of his friends in the Jewish community that have been going on for a long time.

it isn't a discussion. it is your grandpa being a senile angry old man picking on victims. face it... the family history is full of weak leadership. Iran was Grandpa's doing.

I, like many others, see this as a great step towards reconciliation," Jason Carter said in the statement. "As for my campaign, I intend to reach out to all people in District 42 and work hard to earn their trust and their votes. Ultimately, this campaign will focus on the people of this district and the issues that a good advocate in the Georgia State Senate can affect, including fixing a broken transportation system, getting the economy moving again, and providing a first-class education to our kids."

change the subject.... like the fact that your family defamed a people for defending themselves for a decade is second bannana. apology not accepted now.

It seemed clear, however, that Jason Carter saw the apology, issued earlier this month through JTA, as a means of outreach. The younger Carter has been trying for days to reach Liane Levetan, a former state senator and CEO of DeKalb County, and as soon as they connected Tuesday, he directed her to the JTA Web site to read the letter.

"I wanted to let Jason know that I really and truly understand his position that he loves his grandfather, but you can love someone and not agree with their points of view and actions in certain areas, and Israel is my area," Levetan told JTA in an interview after her conversation with the younger Carter.

Levetan is one of 14 Jews who split with the Carter Center in 2006 after the publication of "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid." The split with the center, which promotes peace and helps alleviate poverty, clearly pained her; she had known the Carters for years and had assisted Rosalynn Carter in expanding education for the mentally disabled when Carter was Georgia's governor in the 1970s.

"I admire the Carter Center; Mrs. Carter did a lot of good things for women," said Levetan, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. "But first I'm a Jew."

again... the question remains. why didn't the younger Carter speak out before? Is this leadership that he can't speak out against senile family members?

Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League's national director, said he was not disturbed that the former president's reaching out to the Jewish community might have been triggered in part by his grandson's political aspirations.

oh shut up Abe... you let this enabling crap go on as well.

"If it turns out that President Carter's love for his grandson brought about an epiphany in his relationship with the Jewish people, that's fine," said Foxman, who has criticized Carter over his statements on Israel. "I don't care what stimulated him to re-examine his bias toward the Jewish people. If it's his grandson and his understanding that his grandson's relations to the Jewish community will help him succeed -- I don't think we have the right to judge."

In his interview with JTA, the elder Carter acknowledged that the negative impressions about his book and book tour had ruptured his relations with the Jewish community. Jewish friends, including Atlanta Rabbi Alvin Sugarman, prominent Atlanta lawyer Miles Alexander and Stuart Eizenstat, who was Carter's chief White House domestic policy adviser, urged him to reach out to the Jews.

notice that Carter is only concerned with his power and not with the harm he has done. ABE WAKE UP!

He attempted to do so by arranging a talk at a synagogue or another Jewish venue, Carter told JTA, but was rebuffed. Hence he opted for the Christmas-Chanukah plea for forgiveness for any stigma he may have caused Israel.

maybe because you really aren't apologizing Jimmy... just say what you did wrong. not the effect of it

"We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even as we strive in a positive way to help Israel continue to improve its relations with its Arab populations, but we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel," Carter wrote in his statement. "As I would have noted at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but which is appropriate at any time of the year, I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so."

"Al Het" refers to the Yom Kippur prayer asking God forgiveness for sins committed against Him. In modern Hebrew it refers to any plea for forgiveness.

but you are a public figure Jimmy. it isn't just between you and g-d. tell us what you said specifically that was damaging.

Asked what in particular he might have done to stigmatize Israel, Carter referred to the title of his book. The former president said that he had attempted to conflate into a single title his belief that Palestine, not Israel, should control the West Bank, and that apartheid, not peace, would prevail were that not to happen. Apartheid was a predictor, he said, not a description; such an outlook was not inconsistent with Israeli leaders and pro-Israel groups.

details... details... details Jimmy. what about the inside of the book? let's go over what is really going on in Judea. why is Obama now attempting ethnic cleansing on Jews. why are Muslim settlements allowed while Jewish settlements are not allowed?

"I never intended or wanted to stigmatize the nation of Israel, even though I have disagreed with the settlement policy all the way back to the White House," he said.

he lied back then too apparently because he libeled Israel back then too by claiming a settlement freeze would last longer then in did for the run up to the peace talks that didn't lead to any peace for Israel. It just made it harder to blame a power like Egypt and turned it into Guerilla war. It was peace without the means to enforce any peace. worse then WAR!

This apology cum defense has frustrated Jewish leaders in the past. Carter seems overly focused on the title, they say, and does not deal with what they say are the book's distortions.

yes... that is putting it mildly

While Carter remained focused on the title in the interview with JTA, he appeared to have internalized criticisms that he was one-sided and unfair to the pro-Israel lobby.

internalized? what does that mean? he's lying again! he's sorry he didn't make a more distracting argument because he was too honest about his own Anti-Semitism. He's only sorry that he was caught.

He said he was pessimistic about current peace prospects, partly because Israel continued to build settlements -- but also because of the Palestinian leadership's "recalcitrance" in insisting on a total settlement freeze and its rejection of Israel's partial settlement freeze as sufficient grounds to restart talks.

how about the Muslim settlements Jimmy? Jerusalem was two thirds Jewish in 1948

"The Israelis have said they're not going to discuss East Jerusalem and are still constructing settlements in the West Bank, the Palestinians refuse to negotiate," said Carter, who travels frequently to the region. "The recalcitrance on the part of the Palestinians and Israeli settlements -- I don't see at this moment a way to bring an end to the impasse."

notice he doesn't mention Bibi's 10 month freeze

Carter said he never meant to convey the impression that the pro-Israel lobby silenced criticism of Israel, only that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was the "most influential lobbying group" and that presidents including himself and congresses have historically been "totally committed" to Israel's security. He was grateful for the rise of J Street, saying that the dovish group's views were aligned with his own.

Double talk and praise for J street. Carter does like a mirror. what is wrong with a good cause being powerful Carter?

"My pre-eminent foreign policy objective,” Carter said, “has been peace in the Middle East" fueled in part by his affection for Israel. He said he remained committed to helping release Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas since June 2006, and noted that he had helped relay two letters from Shalit's parents to the captured soldier, and one letter from Shalit to his family.

it didn't help Jimmy. It just enabled more terrorism and gave the idea of freeing thousands of murderers more momentum.

Jewish groups that had led criticism of Carter welcomed the outreach -- and adopted a wait-and-see pose.

"Over the years NJDC has taken issue with what we perceived to be President Carter's one-sided criticism of the State of Israel," Ira Forman, the CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, told JTA. "We think only fair that when the former president asks for forgiveness for any criticism that may have stigmatized Israel that we should respond in kind. We appreciate President Carter's ‘Al Het’ and encourage him to keep these sentiments in mind as he speaks in the future about the State of Israel."

another enabler coming from Jewish groups. the Jews should tell Carter to go away.

The younger Carter has downplayed his grandfather's views in what will primarily be a race -- likely to take place in March, if Adelman goes to Singapore -- fought on local bread-and-butter issues.

again... why didn't you speak out before Jr. if you knew Grandpa was wrong?

"You and I both know that the Georgia Senate doesn’t set Middle East policy. And I don’t think anybody would want it to," he recently told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Still, the elder Carter launched his first bid for the governor's mansion from a state Senate seat, and Jason Carter likely also has greater ambitions.

It would make sense for him to reach out to Jews, said Joy Malkus, the research director for JACPAC, a Chicago-based pro-Israel political action committee. She recalled the similar experience of Jesse Jackson Jr., the congressman who had to overcome Jewish animosity to his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Jews in Jackson's district were "naturally somewhat skeptical," she said, and Jackson worked hard, through visits to Israel and cooperation with the local federation, to overcome the skepticism.

"From what I remember at the very beginning when he ran," Malkus said, "we really had to talk to people, and say, 'Yes, we did sit down with him, and he had a position on Israel, and he worked with federation,' and people had to be somewhat assured that he was going to be a friend."

via jta.org

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Jihad Watch Awards 2009: Nominations are now open! - Jihad Watch

1. American Dhimmi: Obama

2. International Dhimmi: Richard Goldstone

3. American Anti-Dhimmi: Pam Geller of http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com

4. International Anti-Dhimmi: David Appletree of http://theJIDF.org

;^)

2005:
American Dhimmi: Ramsey Clark
Dhimmi Internationale: George Galloway
American Anti-Dhimmi: Tom Tancredo
Anti-Dhimmi Internationale: Oriana Fallaci

2006:
American Dhimmi: Jimmy Carter
Dhimmi Internationale: Jacques Chirac
American Anti-Dhimmi: John Bolton
Anti-Dhimmi Internationale: John Howard and Geert Wilders

2007:
American Dhimmi: Jimmy Carter
Dhimmi Internationale: Ken Livingstone and Ehud Olmert
American Anti-Dhimmi: Mark Steyn (honorary American)
Anti-Dhimmi Internationale: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

2008:
American Dhimmi: Jimmy Carter
Dhimmi Internationale: Rowan Williams
American Anti-Dhimmi: Mark Steyn (honorary American)
Anti-Dhimmi Internationale: Geert Wilders

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Message To Matt Damon and the Toronto International Film Festival

I had a lot of fun making comments on Digg ;-p