Jimmy Carter, on the eve of Christmas and the New Year, has issued an apology to American Jews for any past statements or actions that angered and caused a breach between them and the former President.
In a surprise move, Carter expressed his apologies and request for forgiveness. He upset the Jewish community with his comparison three years ago of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians to the South Africa apartheid system that lasted until the mid 1990s. Also, his visit this past year to Gaza to meet with Hamas, the terrorist group that runs that territory, angered the United States, the European Union, and Israel.
The head of the Anti Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, accepted the apology for the Jewish community in a spirit of foregiveness, with the understanding that Carter’s future actions and words will be crucial to full acceptance of his apology.
Carter has expressed his hope that bloodshed and hatred would over time be replaced by mutual respect and understanding between Israel and its Arab neighbors, as it is his greatest wish to see peace in the area in his lifetime.
My feeling is the same as Abraham Foxman, and I think most Jews will accept the apology and hope for better relations between President Carter and the Jewish community, as there is a lot of Carter’s record during and after his Presidency to admire and praise!