(RNS) Fourteen members of an advisory group to the Atlanta-based Carter Center have resigned in protest over former President Jimmy Carter’s recent book and statements on the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate.
At the same time, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), a group that represents nearly 2,000 Reform rabbis, canceled a visit to the Carter Center during the group’s scheduled March convention in Atlanta.
In a letter to Carter made public Jan. 11, the one-time members of the advisory panel known as the Board of Councilors accused the former president of turning “to a world of advocacy, even malicious advocacy.”
The resignations were prompted by anger over Carter’s recently published book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” which is critical of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, and in remarks Carter has since made defending the book. Last month, former Carter Center Director Kenneth W. Stein resigned as a center fellow, saying the book is biased and marred with factual mistakes.
Carter has defended the book as fair and thorough. There was no immediate comment from Carter over the resignations, although the center’s executive director, John Hardman, thanked the former members for “their years of service and support … in advancing peace and health around the world.”
The resignations were welcomed by the Atlanta chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, which said those leaving the advisory group made a “principled stance by taking action to be faithful to their values.”
