Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Monday that he does not support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel, but said products made in Israeli settlements should be clearly labeled so buyers can make a choice about them.
Carter told The Associated Press in an interview that he and the other retired leaders known as "The Elders" recently discussed the economic pressure campaign against Israel. The Elders group was formed by the late Nelson Mandela in 2007, and includes senior and retired leaders who work together on peace-building and humanitarian initiatives. Among the other current Elders are Irish former President Mary Robinson, retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and Finnish former President Martti Ahtisaari.
"We decided not to publicly endorse any kind of embargo, or so forth, against Israeli invasion, or occupying troops in Palestine," Carter said.
"We have also encouraged Europeans, for instance, at least to label products that are made by Israeli people who occupy Palestine and ship their products out of Palestine to be sold in Europe ... so that the buyers can decide whether they want to buy them or not."
Speaking about Israel's demand that the Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state, Carter said, "I don't see how the Palestinians or the Arab world can accept that premise, that Israel is an exclusively Jewish state."
"This has never been put forward in any of the negotiations in which I was involved as president, or any president, before [Benjamin] Netanyahu became prime minister this time," Carter said. "And now it has been put into the forefront of consideration.
"Israel can claim, 'We are a Jewish state.' I don't think the Arab countries will contradict that Jewish statement. But to force the Arab people to say that all the Arab people that they have in Israel have to be Jews, I think that's going too far."
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