Ulterior Motive For Jimmy Carter's Apology To Jews

When I read that Jimmy Carter had actually apologized to the Jews for his often contentious, anti-Semitic diatribes I knew there had to be some ulterior motive. A man who has so vociferously criticized Israel for years doesn't repent overnight. A man who actually called Israel an apartheid state in his book- "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid"- had to have some other reason for apologizing, besides a sudden change of heart. At first I thought- heck maybe he's dying and he wants to make amends before he kicks the bucket. It happens. Wiping one's slate clean, so to speak. After all, he told the Jewish community he was

... offering an Al Het, a prayer said on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. It signifies a plea for forgiveness.

"We must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel," Carter said in the letter, which was first sent to JTA, a wire service for Jewish newspapers, and provided Wednesday to The Associated Press. "As I would have noted at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but which is appropriate at any time of the year, I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so ."

I'm all for asking for forgiveness and forgiving others, but the apology has to be sincere. I should have known better when it comes to Jimmah Carter, the two-faced snake. No, he's not dying- his grandson, Jason Carter, is running for office in a predominately Jewish area in Atlanta. The grandson, of course, denies any relationship between his grandpa's apology and his eyeing the state Senate seat that will become available if Obama's political nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, David Adelman, is confirmed. The special election would occur in March.

Jason Carter, who is running in a district with a vocal Jewish population, said in a statement that his grandfather's letter was unrelated to his campaign and hailed the apology as a "great step towards reconciliation."

Apologizing must have been a massively bitter pill to swallow, considering everything he has said about Israel and the Jews, because frankly I don't buy it. Others have been more accepting,

Carter's apology was welcomed by Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and a vocal critic of Carter's views on Israel.

"When a former president reaches out to the Jewish community and asks for forgiveness, it's incumbent of us to accept it," he said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem. "To what extent this is an epiphany, only time will tell. There certainly was a lot of hurt, a lot of angry words that need to be repaired. But this is a good start."

I'm glad someone believed him. And perhaps I would have been less skeptical had this not coincided with his grandson's political aspirations.