Carter Lies About 'Prayer Meeting' That Wasn't

In an article yesterday on aging bigot Jimmy Carter, the New York Times began a report by telling how Carter was engaged in a peaceful, touchy-feely "discussion" with some rabbis in Phoenix. The chitchat ended with a warm-hearted Jew-hug, according to Carter.

"'We ended up holding hands and circled in prayer,' Mr. Carter said in a telephone interview from Phoenix, adding that the rabbis requested the meeting to discuss his book," said the Times.

In fact, that was a lie. The Phoenix board of rabbis had called the meeting to rake Carter over the coals for his "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" swill. One of the rabbis involved wrote a letter saying:

The executive committee of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix met with Jimmy Carter for more than an hour, not to “discuss” his book, as you report he said, but to speak on behalf of the greater Phoenix Jewish community and share with him the very serious concerns we have regarding his book.

Mr. Carter referred to our praying together. In essence, it was a closing invocation for peace in the world but was not intended and should not be construed as representing any agreement or conciliation by us with Mr. Carter’s position.

In fact, the opposite is true.

His use of the word “colonization” to describe Israel’s policies in the West Bank, without any consideration for the security concerns of the Israeli government, shows his bias on the issue.

This warranted a correction or an editor's note, not a letter. It is typical of the softball media coverage of Carter's screed.