Jimmy Carter's Obessive Hatred of Menachem Begin: Why He Hates Israel

Ken Stein (the man whose resignation over the Peanut's book, started the exodus from the Carter Center) wrote an extensive article in the latest issue of Middle East Quarterly. More than just correcting the mistakes in Carter's trashy opus, Stein (who worked with Carter on the book The Blood of Abraham and was director of the Carter Center until his recent resignation) gives us new insight into Carter's heart and why he [Carter] hates Israel so much.

Jimmy Carter is obsessively fostering hatred for a Ghost. Jimmy Carter Hates Israel because he hates Menachem Begin. Carter feels that Begin cost him the 1980 election and also cost him the opportunity to be known as the greatest peacemaker ever in the history of the world.

Carter says the reason Israel STILL will not leave the disputed territories is the legacy of the late Israeli Prime Minister The intransigence of Begin and his successors, Carter believes, was compounded by a failure of U.S. political leaders to pressure the Israeli government to correct its policy.

HEY JIMBO! GIVE THE GUY A BREAK HE PASSED AWAY A LONG TIME AGO....GET OVER IT !!!!...Carter's Obsessive Hatred of Begin reaches almost comic proportions.

Stein gives more examples:

• Carter's animosity toward Begin has grown with time. He blames Begin for refusing to negotiate over the West Bank. Not only did this deny Carter a more complete peace deal, but, Carter believes, it also institutionalized itself in Israeli policymaking, worsening the Palestinians' plight. Since Begin took office on May 17, 1977, ending the Labor movement's hegemony in Israeli political life, Carter has repeatedly blasted Israeli prime ministers for what he terms the creation of a "horrible" and "terrible" state of affairs for the Palestinians in areas of east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip

• Skepticism of Carter's intentions may have convinced Begin to take a harder line about the West Bank, which, in line with biblical terminology, he called Judea and Samaria. During his tenure as prime minister, Begin forbade the negotiation agenda to include the West Bank and those portions of Jerusalem that the Israeli government annexed after the 1967 Six-Day war. This refusal to negotiate became Carter's core disagreement with Begin. Carter realized that with Begin adamant against further concessions, he had no tangible item to offer to the Palestinians or other Arab leaders to reach a broader peace agreement. With Begin not offering a fallback position, Carter could not initiate a conclusive Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process. He never forgave Begin.

• A point he has repeatedly made when speaking to my students, his animus toward the late Israeli leader is limitless. This became evident when we were writing The Blood of Abraham, and Carter insisted on asserting that Begin "wanted to expand Israeli borders to both sides of the Jordan River." In fact, this is anachronistic. True, this had been Begin's view prior to Israel's independence in 1948, but it was not, as Carter implied, Begin's position after his twenty-nine years in the Knesset (parliament) or during his premiership. During chapter editing, I brought the error to Carter's attention. He declined to correct it.

• The Negotiations with Egypt was really two against one: During the difficult negotiations between Egypt and Israel, Carter and his advisers tried to get Sadat to engage in a collusive scheme: They would encourage Sadat to make "deliberately exaggerated" demands. The White House would then intervene to "compel" Cairo to scale back its demands in exchange for Israeli concessions. Then-national security advisor Brzezinski explained that Washington would "apply maximum leverage on Israel to accommodate,by keeping the West Bank's political future on the table for future negotiations. That Carter risked possible Israeli-Egyptian peace in an effort to extract greater concessions from Begin underscores the tension in their relationship.

• Carter also blames difficulties with Begin for undermining his re-election. In early 1980, with the critical New York Democratic primary looming, Mondale urged Carter to repudiate the U.S. vote for U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 465,which had condemned Israeli settlement activity. According to Brzezinski:

  Jewish voters swung heavily over to Senator [Edward] Kennedy, ensuring Carter's defeat. The set-back prolonged the Carter-Kennedy contest. Sadat did not want a final showdown on the Palestinian problem prior to the return of the Sinai to Egypt. Without pressure from Sadat, our own incentive to push Israel hard was much decreased. Begin proved himself to be a skilled manipulator ... adroit at delaying tactics and in diversionary public appeals ... by mid-June it was clear even to Mondale that Begin wanted Carter defeated.

Carter reminds me of Herbert Lom in the old Pink Panther movies, he played Clouseau's Boss who hated the Peter Sellers character so much that he kept trying to kill him. Lom's character keeps hurting himself in his attempts and eventually winds up insane.

Such is Jimmy Carter's sick hatred of Menachem Began. The man has been dead for fifteen year's and Cater allows his hatred to stew, affect is decision making, and cause him to write a book that ruins any legacy that he might have had.

Stein's article make many more great points and I suggest you go here to read it.