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Lawmaker Calls for Stripping of Taxpayer Funds to Carter Center
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
JERUSALEM -
A U.S. lawmaker introduced legislation Wednesday to strip former President
Jimmy Carter's Georgia-based scholarly institution of taxpayer support
because of Carter's plans to meet with the top leaders of the Palestinian
terror group Hamas.
And a second lawmaker presented a non-binding resolution that would urge
former presidents from "freelance diplomacy" in direct response to Carter's
visit.
Carter is set to set to meet Thursday with Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader
with control over militants in the Gaza Strip, and he met Tuesday with a
high-ranked Hamas politician.
But the heaviest criticism for Carter is coming over a planned meeting on
Friday with Hamas' exiled leader Khaled Meshal.
"America must speak with one voice against our terrorist enemies," Rep. Joe
Knollenberg, R-Mich., said in a statement from his office. "It sends a
fundamentally troubling message when an American dignitary is engaged in
dialogue with terrorists. My legislation will make sure that taxpayer
dollars are not being used to support discussions or negotiations with
terrorist groups."
Knollenberg said the Carter Center has received about $19 million in
taxpayer funds since 2001. He named his bill the Coordinated American
Response to Extreme Radicals Act - or CARTER Act, for short. The Carter
Center is housed at Emory University in Atlanta.
The non-binding legislation was forwarded by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. If
adopted, the bill would express the "sense of Congress" that it "disapproves
of former President Jimmy Carter's freelance diplomatic efforts in the
Middle East, which contradict the stated foreign policy position of the
current Administration."
The new legislation is the latest embodiment of scorn directed at Carter
over meetings he plans this week with leaders of Hamas, which both the
United States and Israel recognize as a terror organization and with which
they refuse to negotiate.
Also Wednesday, Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who is chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, and Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Mideast subcommittee, wrote Carter imploring him not to meet
with any more Hamas officials.
"[T]his visit will undermine the Middle East peace process and damage the
credibility of Palestinian moderates," they wrote, adding that the
"legitimacy and prestige that Hamas will derive from your visit will be seen
in the region as a clear demonstration that violence pays."
Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., told FOX News, "I don't think Israel should try to
negotiate with Hamas because Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to
exist." Davis added that Carter's overtures stood athwart a tradition of
support for Israel in America.
On Tuesday, more than 50 House members wrote Carter urging him to not meet
with Meshal, calling him the man behind the deaths of 26 Americans.
Sen. Barack Obama, who has stated his disagreement with Carter on the Hamas
visit but supports an open dialogue with Iran, was pressed Wednesday on the
difference between the two.
"[T]here is a distinction in terms of their status within the international
community," he told a group of Jewish community leaders in Philadelphia.
"Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They obviously
have developed great influence within the Palestinian territories, but they
do not control the apparatus of power," he said.
A Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radhwan, said in an interview that Carter's visit
"reflects the recognition that the Hamas movement cannot be ignored,"
according to a transcript from MEMRI TV. "We will benefit from this meeting
by explaining our cause, our positions, and our principles and by presenting
our just cause," the spokesman said.
Carter, speaking briefly with FOX News on Wednesday, said the search for
Mideast peace should include reaching out to groups such as Hamas. The
former president was the broker of Israel's peace treaty with Egypt three
decades ago.
"I'm going to try to get Syria to be constructive in the entire peace
process, that would include Iraq and Lebanon, as well," he said.
The Islamic militant group will meet with Carter in Cairo about their demand
that Israel open Gaza's crossings and stop military raids in the territory,
a Hamas official told FOX News.
The meeting is expected to include Zahar, which would be significant because
he controls militants in Gaza and is crucial to cease-fire negotiations with
Israel. Egypt is trying to broker those talks.
Zahar is also instrumental to talks on the release of the captured Israeli
soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, whose 2006 capture by Hamas was a catalyst to the
monthlong fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group
Hezbollah, which also captured Israeli soldiers. Hamas wants some 450
Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's release.
When speaking with FOX earlier Wednesday, Carter sidestepped a question
about about how his talks are shaping up Friday with Meshal.
"I'd rather not tell FOX News what I want to talk to," Carter said. "I don't
know yet. We haven't firmed up anything. So it's premature to talk about
that yet."
Carter reportedly hugged and kissed another Hamas leader Tuesday in the West
Bank town of Ramallah. Carter's embrace of Nasser Shaer, a senior Hamas
politician, at a closed-door reception organized by Carter's office was
reported by several news outlets.
"He gave me a hug. We hugged each other, and it was a warm reception," Shaer
told The Associated Press. "Carter asked what he can do to achieve peace
between the Palestinians and Israel ... and I told him the possibility for
peace is high."
Shaer, who served as deputy prime minister and education minister in the
Hamas-led Palestinian government that unraveled last year, is considered a
leading member of the Islamic militant group's pragmatic wing. After a stint
in an Israeli prison last year, he is now a professor at a West Bank
university, teaching comparative religion.
Carter also laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat, whom he praised as
a man who fought for "just causes" in the world. The Bush administration and
many Israelis blame Arafat for the breakdown of peace talks seven years ago
and the violence that followed.
President Bush did not visit Arafat's mausoleum in Ramallah when he visited
earlier this year.
Israel and the West Bank were the first stops on a visit that also is to
include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria - where the virulently
anti-Israel Hamas movement is headquartered.
FOX News' Reena Ninan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
JERUSALEM -
A U.S. lawmaker introduced legislation Wednesday to strip former President
Jimmy Carter's Georgia-based scholarly institution of taxpayer support
because of Carter's plans to meet with the top leaders of the Palestinian
terror group Hamas.
And a second lawmaker presented a non-binding resolution that would urge
former presidents from "freelance diplomacy" in direct response to Carter's
visit.
Carter is set to set to meet Thursday with Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader
with control over militants in the Gaza Strip, and he met Tuesday with a
high-ranked Hamas politician.
But the heaviest criticism for Carter is coming over a planned meeting on
Friday with Hamas' exiled leader Khaled Meshal.
"America must speak with one voice against our terrorist enemies," Rep. Joe
Knollenberg, R-Mich., said in a statement from his office. "It sends a
fundamentally troubling message when an American dignitary is engaged in
dialogue with terrorists. My legislation will make sure that taxpayer
dollars are not being used to support discussions or negotiations with
terrorist groups."
Knollenberg said the Carter Center has received about $19 million in
taxpayer funds since 2001. He named his bill the Coordinated American
Response to Extreme Radicals Act - or CARTER Act, for short. The Carter
Center is housed at Emory University in Atlanta.
The non-binding legislation was forwarded by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. If
adopted, the bill would express the "sense of Congress" that it "disapproves
of former President Jimmy Carter's freelance diplomatic efforts in the
Middle East, which contradict the stated foreign policy position of the
current Administration."
The new legislation is the latest embodiment of scorn directed at Carter
over meetings he plans this week with leaders of Hamas, which both the
United States and Israel recognize as a terror organization and with which
they refuse to negotiate.
Also Wednesday, Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who is chairman of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, and Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Mideast subcommittee, wrote Carter imploring him not to meet
with any more Hamas officials.
"[T]his visit will undermine the Middle East peace process and damage the
credibility of Palestinian moderates," they wrote, adding that the
"legitimacy and prestige that Hamas will derive from your visit will be seen
in the region as a clear demonstration that violence pays."
Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., told FOX News, "I don't think Israel should try to
negotiate with Hamas because Hamas does not recognize Israel's right to
exist." Davis added that Carter's overtures stood athwart a tradition of
support for Israel in America.
On Tuesday, more than 50 House members wrote Carter urging him to not meet
with Meshal, calling him the man behind the deaths of 26 Americans.
Sen. Barack Obama, who has stated his disagreement with Carter on the Hamas
visit but supports an open dialogue with Iran, was pressed Wednesday on the
difference between the two.
"[T]here is a distinction in terms of their status within the international
community," he told a group of Jewish community leaders in Philadelphia.
"Hamas is not a state. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They obviously
have developed great influence within the Palestinian territories, but they
do not control the apparatus of power," he said.
A Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radhwan, said in an interview that Carter's visit
"reflects the recognition that the Hamas movement cannot be ignored,"
according to a transcript from MEMRI TV. "We will benefit from this meeting
by explaining our cause, our positions, and our principles and by presenting
our just cause," the spokesman said.
Carter, speaking briefly with FOX News on Wednesday, said the search for
Mideast peace should include reaching out to groups such as Hamas. The
former president was the broker of Israel's peace treaty with Egypt three
decades ago.
"I'm going to try to get Syria to be constructive in the entire peace
process, that would include Iraq and Lebanon, as well," he said.
The Islamic militant group will meet with Carter in Cairo about their demand
that Israel open Gaza's crossings and stop military raids in the territory,
a Hamas official told FOX News.
The meeting is expected to include Zahar, which would be significant because
he controls militants in Gaza and is crucial to cease-fire negotiations with
Israel. Egypt is trying to broker those talks.
Zahar is also instrumental to talks on the release of the captured Israeli
soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, whose 2006 capture by Hamas was a catalyst to the
monthlong fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group
Hezbollah, which also captured Israeli soldiers. Hamas wants some 450
Israeli-held Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's release.
When speaking with FOX earlier Wednesday, Carter sidestepped a question
about about how his talks are shaping up Friday with Meshal.
"I'd rather not tell FOX News what I want to talk to," Carter said. "I don't
know yet. We haven't firmed up anything. So it's premature to talk about
that yet."
Carter reportedly hugged and kissed another Hamas leader Tuesday in the West
Bank town of Ramallah. Carter's embrace of Nasser Shaer, a senior Hamas
politician, at a closed-door reception organized by Carter's office was
reported by several news outlets.
"He gave me a hug. We hugged each other, and it was a warm reception," Shaer
told The Associated Press. "Carter asked what he can do to achieve peace
between the Palestinians and Israel ... and I told him the possibility for
peace is high."
Shaer, who served as deputy prime minister and education minister in the
Hamas-led Palestinian government that unraveled last year, is considered a
leading member of the Islamic militant group's pragmatic wing. After a stint
in an Israeli prison last year, he is now a professor at a West Bank
university, teaching comparative religion.
Carter also laid a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat, whom he praised as
a man who fought for "just causes" in the world. The Bush administration and
many Israelis blame Arafat for the breakdown of peace talks seven years ago
and the violence that followed.
President Bush did not visit Arafat's mausoleum in Ramallah when he visited
earlier this year.
Israel and the West Bank were the first stops on a visit that also is to
include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria - where the virulently
anti-Israel Hamas movement is headquartered.
FOX News' Reena Ninan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.