Jimmy Carter Joins Jewish Rabbis in Solidarity Fasts for Gaza
Aside from the political implications, the inter-faith nature of these solidarity fasts are very good for increasing awareness and building bridges on all sides of the conflict.
Part of me is tempted to know how the American public would respond if current United States President Barack Hussein Obama and first lady Michelle Obama were to partake in these solidarity fasts?
Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife fasted in solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip who are living under siege.
About going without for days Carter laughed it off, saying “I didn’t miss the food at all, but I missed water.”
He said, “I spent all day thinking of the people of Gaza and the harsh conditions of life imposed on them by the embargo.” The former US President said that he prayed for the Palestinians of Gaza while fasting for the first time in his more than 80 years of life.
Jimmy Carter said that he had received a call from Jewish rabbis in the United States who told him that they had already begun fasting once a week in solidarity with Gaza and its people, and asked him to join them. But he and his wife had decided that they would do so alone and had already started fasting.
Carter’s speech came during iftar, the evening breakfast, held at the Grand Park Hotel in Ramallah. It included members of the Elders organization, a group of world leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, and a number of Palestinian intellectuals, businessmen and representatives of civil society institutions.
During the meal to break the day’s Ramadan fast, the group exchanged views. Desmond Tutu said, “I’ve heard many Palestinian and Israeli youth. I have heard things that are very impressive, but I felt the presence of hope in spite of the occupation and the suffering of the Palestinians that it causes, which is very important.”
Speaking of politics, Carter said, “We must not forget that all the Israeli settlements to the east of the Green Line are illegal, how can you talk about a settlement freeze” in a clear reference to what is being talked about these days by the current US administration led by Obama.
Jimmy Carter and his Wife Fast in Solidarity with People of Gaza Under Siege [Palestine News Network]