Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Jewish Groups Spurn Jimmy Carter’s Olive Branch
2. Giuliani Flies High on Casino Owner’s Jets
3. Rep. Issa’s Letter Claims ‘Racism’ Against Arabs
4. MacArthur Memorial Raising Money for Expansion
5. We Heard: Huckabee, Sarkozy, Charlie Crist
1. Jewish Groups Spurn Jimmy Carter’s Olive Branch
Former President Jimmy Carter’s attempts to mend fences with the Jewish community have been rebuffed by leading Jewish organizations and Jewish legislators in Congress.
Carter’s relations with much of the organized Jewish community have been strained since the publication of his book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” and his remarks about the Jewish lobby’s influence on U.S. foreign policy.
Carter attempted to repair those relations by inviting Jewish groups to discuss ways that he could help with the upcoming Middle East conference.
As President, Carter brokered the Camp David Accords, which led to a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt in March 1979.
But while Carter invited most of the major Jewish groups, only a small handful of organizations — all of which favor a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians — sent a representative, the Jewish publication Forward reported.
“I didn’t want to be used,” said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who turned down Carter’s invitation.
“I didn’t think anything constructive could come out of the meeting.”
Foxman also said: “He is entitled not to support Israel, but he is not entitled to come out and fuel anti-Semitic canards.”
A few hours after the meeting, Carter took part in a closed-door session with Jewish legislators on Capitol Hill. They voiced their displeasure over Carter’s book, published in November 2006, which argues that Israel’s “colonization” of Palestinian land has been a primary obstacle to peace.
“I told him that the Jewish community, [which] has great respect for his work around the world, is extremely hurt, disappointed and frustrated from his views and that he cannot serve as an honest broker,” Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat, told Forward.
The lawmakers told the former president he needs to apologize, but Carter did not do so.
Forward observed that the reception Carter received from the Jewish groups “suggests that the resentment is still strong and that it may pose an obstacle for him as he attempts to offer his help in brokering peace in the Middle East.”
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2. Giuliani Flies High on Casino Owner’s Jets
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani is flying around the campaign trail on private jets belonging to a Las Vegas casino kingpin.
Sheldon Adelson, whose casino empire has reportedly made him the third-richest American with a fortune of some $28 billion, and his Interface Operations LLC was the top provider of corporate jets to frequent flyer Giuliani during the last quarter.
The candidate enjoyed flights on the firm’s luxurious Gulfstream G-IV in late August and early September, according to campaign records obtained by the New York Daily News.
“You have to follow the money and ask, ‘Why is Sheldon Adelson partnering with Rudy Giuliani?’” Stacey Cargill, an anti-gambling and GOP activist in Iowa, told the News.
“If Rudy Giuliani wants to be the crime-fighting candidate, why is he partnering with a large and growing gambling empire?”
Before Sept. 14, candidates could fly on corporate jets and reimburse their owners only for the cost of a first-class commercial ticket. But due to new regulations from the Federal Election Commission, candidates are now required to pay fair-market prices for the private jets.
The News calculated that a chartered flight aboard a Gulfstream G-IV from New York to Des Moines, Iowa, would cost $36,333, while four first-class tickets for a candidate and three staffers would cost $2,168.
Adelson held a fund-raiser for the Giuliani campaign at his Venetian casino in Las Vegas in October.
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3. Rep. Issa’s Letter Claims ‘Racism’ Against Arabs
A fundraising letter sent by Arab-American Rep. Darrell Issa cited “anti-Arab racism” and touched off a clash with a pro-Israel congressman.
The letter from the California Republican seeking campaign contributions was sent to about 80,000 members of the Muslim and Arab communities in late October. It began:
“I am one of only five Arab-Americans in Congress. I have been personally the target of anti-Arab racism and hate speech on the Internet and in other media.”
The letter also states: “Inspired by the malicious writings of one person, members of the radical Jewish Defense League targeted my office — a U.S. Congressman’s office — in a terrorist plot that was thwarted by the FBI just days before it was to be carried out.”
The “one person” Issa referred to was a local columnist who he believes targeted him because of his Lebanese Arab descent, The Hill newspaper reported.
Two members of the Jewish Defense League implicated in the 2001 bomb plot were later charged with plotting to blow up a California mosque as well.
Issa’s letter angered Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat, who Issa singled out in his fundraising letter.
Issa said that after hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah broke out in 2006, Arab-American members of Congress wanted to call on both sides to make efforts to limit civilian casualties.
Rep. Engel, Issa wrote, “said language urging restraint to protect civilian life would have been interpreted as a slap to Israel.”
He also blamed members of the “pro-Israel lobby” for blocking the measure.
Engel “expressed shock” that a fundraising letter would use another member of Congress’ name, according to The Hill.
“This is unusual and I think it is unfortunate,” Engel said. “I understand as colleagues we are going to have differences but it is inappropriate to use anyone else in a fundraising letter.
“I don’t personalize [an issue] to try to raise funds.”
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4. MacArthur Memorial Raising Money for Expansion
We can never forget one of America’s greatest general, Douglas MacArthur.
Recently, the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation has raised nearly $1 million for its “5 Star Campaign” to modernize and expand the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Va.
The proposed $4.5 million expansion will triple the changing exhibit space, add a multi-media theater, and provide a great hall for visitor orientation.
Contributions to the 5 Star Campaign are being matched by the City of Norfolk up to a total of $2 million.
The 5 Star Campaign “will enhance and transform the visitor experience at the MacArthur Memorial for 21st Century visitors while preserving and presenting General MacArthur’s enduring values of Duty, Honor, and Country,” a release from the General Douglas MacArthur Foundation states.
MacArthur, who died in 1964, served in World War I and later as Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific theatre during World War II. He oversaw the rebuilding of Japan and commanded United Nations forces during the Korean War.
His Memorial’s library contains MacArthur’s 5,000 books, more than 2 million documents and maps, and some 150,000 photographs.
Those wanting to contribute to the 5 Star Campaign can go online to www.macarthurmemorial.org.
5. We Heard . . .
THAT presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee’s rise in the polls in Iowa indicates he could actually win in the early caucus state — and that would help fellow Republican Rudy Giuliani by taking some steam out of Mitt Romney’s campaign.
“It’s not impossible that Huckabee could take the win from Mitt Romney in Iowa and make this thing a race,” one GOP activist told Paul Bedard of U.S. News & World Report.
Giuliani wouldn’t be concerned about a strong Huckabee showing in Iowa because the former Arkansas governor has focused mostly on Iowa and New Hampshire, while Giuliani is concentrating his efforts on larger states with later primaries.
THAT a dispute between Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and fellow Republican Marco Rubio, Speaker of the Florida House, is heading for the state’s Supreme Court.
Rubio has sued Crist over a deal the governor approved to allow slot machines and games like blackjack in Seminole casinos, saying the measure requires the legislature’s approval.
Rubio maintains that Crist’s move “blatantly usurps” the power of the legislature, which was not consulted during the governor’s talks with the tribe.
Crist fired back with a statement saying he is “disappointed” that Rubio is delaying money for schools — the gambling measure would help fund the state’s education system.
This is not the first time Crist and Rubio have squared off. The Miami Herald reports: “From property taxes to global warming, Rubio has nipped at Crist’s policies on a variety of fronts to establish himself as a hard-line conservative who is upholding [former Gov.] Jeb Bush’s legacy.”
THAT French President Nicolas Sarkozy has agreed to accept the 2008 Appeal of Conscience World Statesman Award at the group’s annual awards dinner in September 2008.
Sarkozy will be honored for his “outstanding leadership in advancing freedom, tolerance, inter-religious and intercultural understanding,” according to a statement from the organization.
In early November, Appeal of Conscience Foundation President and founder Rabbi Arthur Schneier presented Sarkozy with a silver apple during the president’s state visit to Washington, D.C.
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