However is he so ill-informed that he is unaware that Israel's demand is not "completely new" - that:
- Israel raised this demand in the Reservations it raised to the Roadmap on 27 May 2003 stating: "declared references must be made to Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state"; America made the following written commitment to Israel on 14 April 2004;
- The United States is strongly committed to Israel's security and well-being as a Jewish state; and
- Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated this demand as the basis for further negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in a speech to the community assembled in Annapolis on 27 November 2007.
If Mr Carter is that uninformed or seeks to claim memory loss for his otherwise inexplicable lapse then he should retire gracefully rather than making misleading statements that have the capacity to persuade public opinion that the Jews are attempting to subvert the negotiating process by raising belated demands.
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Mary Robinson is no better. After visiting Gaza on 16 October she declared: "It is unconscionable and unacceptable that Israel and the international community have not lifted the blockade fully to allow Gazans to rebuild their lives and be part of the interconnected world that we take for granted."
The blockade is also being imposed by Egypt. Why would Mary Robinson fail to mention that salient fact? How many readers will be quick to blame the Jews alone for imposing the blockade and exonerate Egypt from any similar criticism?
If The Elders are to make any worthwhile contribution to resolving the Arab - Jewish conflict they need to quickly disavow themselves of such irresponsible and highly inflammatory statements or become known as the purveyors of canards and falsehoods whose effect is to malign and vilify the Jewish people.
Yes - Mary Robinson and Jimmy Carter - words do certainly count. Just make sure you use them in a manner that is not unfair, deceptive or misleading.
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