Everyone knows that Jon Stewart is our most important Jew (place that reference), so it was a fairly big deal for him to have Jimmy Carter on his show right after Israel and the Bush administration had denounced him. In the second part of the interview below, Carter disabuses the ignorance commonly held by Americans by first stating that Hamas is eager to talk and possibly recognize Israel. That’s the exact opposite of what you’d expect from the characterization of a fundamentalist terrorist group proliferated in the Western media.

Part 1 of 2

download fileCarter also reminds Americans that Hamas is the legitimate and democratically-elected government of the Palestinian people, which implies that Israel and the US are the true agitators for defining the Palestinian government as a terrorist organization, overthrowing Hamas, and funding the illegitimate Fatah government in spite of the results of the election. Overall, Carter highlights the hypocrisy of American foreign policy, not only for our refusal to talk to these groups but for blacklisting them in the first place simply because they refuse to submit to our will. Part 2 of 2

download fileI’ve gotta give props to Stewart for having Carter on the show - and not simply as a means to belittle him while pushing Zionist ideology as the 24 hour news networks have done. I know Jon probably caught a lot of shit from the right-wing Jewish community for giving the former president a platform to preach peace and understanding, so kudos to him for promoting that often unheard message.