REFORM RABBIS CANCEL CARTER CENTER VISIT

Reform rabbis cancel Carter Center visit (JTA)
The Central Conference of American Rabbis, the umbrella organization of Reform rabbis, announced it was cancelling a visit to the Carter Center planned to coincide with its March convention in Atlanta.

In a strongly-worded statement released Thursday, the CCAR criticized former President Carter’s recent book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” which has come under fire from Jewish organizations for its one-sided account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We call upon Mr. Carter to better educate himself and his readers as to the true root causes of the Palestinian people’s dire plight, and once again to dedicate his efforts to promoting peace, not prejudice, in the Middle East,” the conference said in a statement. “As the rabbinic body of Reform Judaism, the largest denomination of religiously affiliated American Jews, our cancellation of the visit to the Carter Center reflects our continuing commitment to Israel, Zionism, and America’s role in the establishment of a just and lasting peace between the State of Israel and all her Arab neighbors.”

The announcement comes just hours after 14 Jewish members of the Carter Center’s board of councilors announced they were resigning to protest Carter’s book.