c. 2006 Religion News Service

Carter, in Letter to U.S. Jews, Defends Use of `Apartheid’ in Book

(RNS) Former President Jimmy Carter, under fire from Jewish leaders for describing Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands as “apartheid” in a new book, has written an open letter to U.S. Jews to defend and clarify his use of the term.

In the letter, dated Dec. 15, Carter describes a meeting with the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix while on a tour to promote his book, titled “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

“I emphasized, as I had throughout the tour, that the book was about conditions and events in the Palestinian territories and not in Israel, where a democracy exists with all the freedoms we enjoy in our country and Israeli Jews and Arabs are legally guaranteed the same rights as citizens,” Carter said.

Carter said he and the six Phoenix rabbis also “discussed the word `apartheid,’ which I defined as the forced separation of two peoples living in the same land, with one of them dominating and persecuting the other.”

His use of the word “apartheid” has landed the former president, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to broker peaceful solutions to international conflicts, in a great deal of controversy.

The Anti-Defamation League said, “Apartheid, that abhorrent and racist system in South Africa, has no bearing on Israeli policies. Not only are Israel’s policies not racist, but the situation in the territories does not arise from Israeli intentions to oppress or repress Palestinians, but is a product of Palestinian rejection of Israel and the use of terror and violence against the Jewish state.”

But Carter defended his use of the term in his letter, saying it is based on travels to the “Holy Land during the past 33 years, especially within the occupied areas.” The former president said the Palestinian people are being “deprived of the necessities of life by economic restrictions imposed on them by Israel and the United States.”

The former president also said evangelical Christians are partially to blame for U.S. policies toward Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“The overwhelming bias for Israel comes from among Christians like me who have been taught since childhood to honor and protect God’s chosen people from among who came our own savior, Jesus Christ,” Carter said. Carter was raised a Southern Baptist but broke with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000.

_ Daniel Burke

Mormons Will Not Posthumously Baptize Holocaust Survivor

(RNS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints removed the name of Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal from a list of those to be posthumously baptized, after the organization bearing his name issued a statement calling for the removal.

“They did the right thing,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “I’m sure they realized this was a terrible mistake on their part.”

On Monday (Dec. 18), the center, an international Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles, issued a statement asking the church to remove Wiesenthal’s name from the list of those to receive posthumous ordinances, which include baptism. Later in the day, the church said his name had been removed.

“In response to a request by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and in accordance with the commitments the church made in 1995, no church ordinance was performed for Simon Wiesenthal and his name was immediately removed from the International Genealogical Index,” said Bruce Olsen, a spokesman for the church.

In 1995 the church agreed to remove the names of Holocaust victims and Jews from the list of those to be posthumously baptized, unless they were direct ancestors of current church members or there was written permission from all living members of the deceased’s family.

“It was astonishing to us that they went against the agreement,” Hier said. “We understand that from their point of view they think they’re doing Simon Wiesenthal a good deed. From the Jewish point of view, it’s rather an insult because it suggests that there’s no other way to get to heaven except through the Mormon church. We believe that Simon Wiesenthal, who lived a full life with great deeds on behalf of mankind, can get to heaven on his own and doesn’t need any assistance.”

In the statement, Olsen also said the church emphasized its policy that members should submit only names of their own ancestors for such baptisms.

“A joint committee of church leaders and leaders of Jewish Holocaust organizations work diligently to maintain good faith, cooperative relationships,” Olsen said in the statement.

_ Ansley Roan

Discrimination Against Muslims in Europe Widespread, Study Finds

PARIS (RNS) Discrimination against Europe’s estimated 13 million Muslims is widespread, affecting their access to employment, education and housing _ and their sense of belonging to the European Union, a new study reports.

Moreover, the extent of anti-Muslim acts is often underreported in the 25-member bloc due to poor or missing official data, according to a report released this week by the Vienna-based European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Discrimination.

“The report makes clear that Muslims, along with other migrant and minority groups, frequently suffer forms of discrimination which reduce their employment opportunities, and affect their educational achievement,” said Monitoring Centre Director Beate Winkler. “This can give rise to hopelessness and could undermine Muslims’ sense of belonging to the EU.”

The study _ which included interviews with 58 Muslims from 10 EU countries _ underscores widespread reports in recent years of discriminatory treatment against Muslims in the 25-member bloc, fueled partly by fears of terrorism, immigration and the rhetoric of far-right parties. Turkey’s rocky effort to join the EU only adds to European unease.

France, home to roughly 6 million Muslims _ Europe’s largest population _ is a case in point. Anti-racism groups complain Muslims are regularly discriminated against in employment and housing. Last year’s riots, largely staged by ethnic Muslim youths, have nourished the antipathy.

A job applicant in France with a North African background was five times less likely to get a reply than others, for example, according to a 2004 study by the University of Paris cited in the report.

Official statistics about incidents of discrimination are unavailable because France bars surveys based on ethnic or religious affiliation.

The center outlines a series of recommendations European countries should follow, including implementing anti-discrimination legislation, emphasizing social integration policies for minorities, monitoring Islamophobic incidents and promoting anti-discrimination in matters such as education and employment.

At the same time, “integration is a two-way process,” Winkler said. “Many European Muslims acknowledge that they need to do more to engage with wider society.”

_ Elizabeth Bryant

Quote of the Day: Comedian Jon Stewart

“They chose the Nigerian because of his ultra-conservative views _ and because he sent them an e-mail suggesting that if Virginia sent him 10,000 souls, he would send them back a million.”

_ Comedian Jon Stewart on a handful of congregations in Virginia deciding to leave the Episcopal Church and join a branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.

DSB/PH END RNS