MORE ON JIMMY CARTER

Brandeis group pursues Carter visit. (Boston Globe)
President Jimmy Carter may yet come to Brandeis University to speak about his controversial new book about Israel — and even get the stage to himself. Some professors are planning to craft a new invitation to Carter to give a lecture without having to debate an opponent.

Last week, the former president told the Globe he declined an invitation to Brandeis because of the string attached. President Jehuda Reinharz, at a trustee’s suggestion, invited Carter to campus to debate “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” with a vehement critic of the book, Alan Dershowitz, a professor at Harvard Law School. Carter said Dershowitz knows nothing about the situation in Palestine.

Several dozen Brandeis professors have been trading e-mails on what could be done, according to two professors on the e-mail list of left-leaning faculty.

Patricia Johnston, a professor of classics, said she and many colleagues have offered to chip in perhaps $100 each to pay for whatever travel and security costs a Carter visit would entail.

See also: Why Won't Carter Debate His Book? - Alan Dershowitz
Former President Jimmy Carter says he wrote a book in order to stimulate a debate, and then he refuses to participate in any such debate. When Larry King referred to my review several times to challenge Carter, Carter first said I hadn't read the book and then blustered, "You know, I think it's a waste of my time and yours to quote Professor Dershowitz. He's so obviously biased, Larry, and it's not worth my time to waste it on commenting on him." (He never did answer King's questions.)

Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz had invited Carter to come to Brandeis to debate me, and Carter refused. The reason Carter gave was this: "There is no need to for me to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine." As Carter knows, I've been to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, many times - certainly more times than Carter has been there - and I've written three books dealing with the subject of Middle Eastern history, politics, and the peace process. The real reason Carter won't debate me is that I would correct his factual errors. (Boston Globe)

See also Emory Professor: Carter Will Hurt Center - Ernie Suggs
Noted Emory University anthropologist Melvin Konner is calling for the Carter Center to distance itself from its namesake in the wake of the former president's latest book and recent comments about Israel. "If you want the Carter Center to survive and thrive independently in the future, you must take prompt and decisive steps to separate the center from President Carter's now irrevocably tarnished legacy," Konner wrote to Carter Center Executive Director John Hardman to decline a position on an advisory panel.

After watching Carter's reaction to the controversy and his failure on several occasions to address any of the criticisms, Konner said, "This rigidity of thought and complete failure to engage criticisms from much greater experts than me about his numerous and serious errors of commission and omission make it clear to me that an attempt by me to advise him would be pointless and counterproductive." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)