ACTION ALERT: Jimmy Carter on Apartheid in Palestine

U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

Posted Nov 14, 2006      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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ACTION ALERT: Jimmy Carter on Apartheid in Palestine

On November 14, Simon & Schuster is scheduled to release President Jimmy Carter’s latest book, tentatively entitled “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid”.

The US Campaign has not reviewed an advance copy of the book and cannot speak to its content.  However, the fact that a former US president is using the term “apartheid” to describe Israel’s policies toward Palestinians represents a fundamental shift in the discourse on Israel/Palestine in the United States and has the potential to dramatically shift US policy for the better.

The US Campaign urges its individual supporters and member organizations to take action around President Carter’s book release to increase awareness in the United States of Israel’s apartheid policies toward Palestinians.

TAKE ACTION:

1. Organize or participate in an event during the US Campaign-endorsed Fourth Annual International Week of Action against the Apartheid Wall, called for by Stop the Wall: The Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign.  Click here for an action alert and suggested ideas.

2. Contact your local bookstore and ask them to stock this book.  Ask your friends, colleagues, and family to purchase the book and host a book club to discuss the issues raised in President Carter’s book and what you can do change the situation.

3. President Carter’s book is likely to generate significant media attention and debate. Call your local talk radio programs and write a letter-to-the-editor to your local paper affirming that Israel’s policies toward Palestinians are apartheid.  Click here for contact information for your local media.

4. Democratic Party leaders such as Reps. Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers and DNC Chair Howard Dean have criticized President Carter for using the term “apartheid” to describe Israel’s policies.  Pelosi denied that Israel “institutionalizes ethnically based oppression” and Dean “fundamentally disagree[s] and do[es] not support his [Carter’s] analysis of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”  Conyers even called on Carter to change the title of his book. Send a message to your Members of Congress and the Democratic Party stating that you support President Carter’s use of the term “apartheid” to describe Israel’s policies.  Click here for contact information for your elected officials.

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