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Did former president Jimmy Carter advise Yasser Arafat to reject Israel's offer for peace at Camp David? Alan Dershowitz suggests he did.

It seems that when Carter appeared at Brandeis to plug his book Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid, he pledged to answer any questions that students e-mailed him afterward. Many took him up on the offer, and Carter did answer every question... except one. That one was this: Did you advise Yasser Arafat to reject the peace offer Israel made at Camp David, at the end of Clinton's term? According to Professor Dershowitz, some 15 students e-mailed that question, and they were the only students not to be answered.

This takes on even more relevance in light of the Quartet--and maybe the rest of the world--rushing to reward the Palestinians and Mahmoud Abbas with unaccountable billions more to encourage a Palestinian state that "will live side by side in peace with Israel." Dershowitz recounts a telling incident at the University of California, Irvine which is a "hotbed" of anti-Israeli agitation:

He [Dershowitz ] spoke to a large crowd, and first asked those who considered themselves pro-Israel to raise their hands. About 250 hands were raised. He then asked them if they would accept a Palestinian state, side by side, living in peace with Israel. Every hand went up.

Then he asked how many considered themselves pro-Palestinian. About 150 hands were raised. Finally, he asked this group whether they would accept a Jewish state of Israel, living side by side in peace with a new Palestinian state. Not a single hand went up.

hat tip: Richard Baehr

Dershowitz on Carter