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Former president Jimmy Carter recently met in Syria with the exiled head of Hamas, one of the most egregious terrorist organizations in the Middle East. That this was controversial is an understatement. Is meeting with such a leader wrong? Not necessarily, but the way it was done is problematic and serious.
Bernard-Henri Levy suggests that “the problem is the spectacular and useless embrace he exchanged with the senior Hamas dignitary, Nasser Shaer, in Ramallah. The problem is also the wreath he laid piously at the grave of Yasser Arafat, who, as Mr. Carter knows better than anyone else, was a real obstacle to peace. It is also in Cairo that, if we are to believe another Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, whose statement so far has not been denied, Mr. Carter apparently described Hamas as a ‘national liberation movement’—this party which has made a cult of death, a mythology of blood and race, and an anti-Semitism along the lines of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion into a linchpin of its ideology.” Amazingly as well, while Carter was meeting with the Hamas leaders, the first car bombing in several months received not one disapproving word from Carter. Finally, Carter has basically humiliated through his actions toward Hamas, the only Palestinian leader—Mahmoud Abbas—who at the risk of his life continues to seek a two state solution in his negotiations with Israel.
The blatant facts are that Hamas continues to refuse to recognize the existence of the state of Israel. As I mentioned on a recent Issues in Perspective, Hamas promotes vitriolic anti-Semitism in children’s programs on its TV station. As a result of Carter’s meeting with the Hamas leadership, Hamas has said it will end its violent terrorism against Israel if Israel returns to the pre-1967 borders. But even given Israel’s actions doing that, the same leaders stated that they still will not recognize Israel’s right to exist. What kind of peaceful solution is that? What did Carter accomplish by his ridiculous visit, other than to feed further the propaganda machine of one of the most violent terrorist organizations in the Middle East.
Consider this: In Jerusalem seven Israelis and one American were slaughtered by a terrorist attack on a Jewish seminary in that city. Before their blood dried on the library floor, Hamas supporters were dancing in the streets of Gaza, while Hamas leaders promised more attacks. CBS reported that “At mosques in Gaza City. . . many residents performed prayers of thanksgiving — only performed in cases of great victory to thank God.” This is the evidence of Hamas and how it views Israel. Does not Jimmy Carter realize that Israel is the only state in the Middle East that allows freedom for all faiths, freedom of the press, freedom for women, and a respect for human life unknown in the Muslim world? As Chuck Colson has observed: “Israel is the only country that mourns when America mourns and that stands up for the same values we do.”
In my judgment, Jimmy Carter is a very tragic figure. To give legitimacy to a terrorist organization like Hamas makes no sense to me. He achieved absolutely nothing other than giving Hamas a propaganda victory of significant proportions. If that was his goal, he achieved that. But if he had another goal, to somehow coax Hamas into meaningful negotiations, he is delusional. That will never occur—and that comes from the mouth of Hamas leaders. There is absolutely no evidence that Hamas will ever recognize the right of Israel to exist. If that is a given, there is nothing to talk about. Tragically and incomprehensibly, Jimmy Carter just does not get it! He is a most tragic figure?
See Bernard-Henri Levy in the Wall Street Journal (25 April 2008) and “Breakpoint” (18 April 2008).
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