STUDENTS have protested against a decision by Mansfield College to award an honorary fellowship to former US President Jimmy Carter this week, alleging that he holds anti-Semitic views.
Julian Mansfield, a second-year PPE student, has contacted JCR members urging them to sign a petition demanding that the College does not award Carter a fellowship, arguing it would imply support for the views expressed in his book ‘Palestine: Peace not Apartheid’.
"Awarding President Carter an honorary fellowship is deeply misguided," he said. "So soon after the publication of such a book, the College’s action surely sends out signals that they endorse his recent work. The University and Mansfield College should be politically neutral and should not by their own expressed goals be seen to be endorsing particular political views, especially when they are so extreme."
Mansfield’s Principal, Dr Diana Walford, has rejected any possibility of reversing the College’s decision to award the fellowship to Carter. "No action is planned concerning the petition. Criticism of Israeli Government policies does not equate to anti-Semitism, as will be evident to anyone who reads the book," she said.
She added that Carter had worked for peace for most of his life. "This honour is in recognition of a lifetime of service. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts," she said.
The book caused a public outcry following its publication in November 2006, owing to an alleged endorsement of anti-Semitic views. Fifteen members of the Carter Centre advisory board resigned, accusing Carter of "condoning violence against Israelis unless they do certain things".
One in nine members of the JCR have signed Mansfield’s petition and students have voiced concern over the College’s decision.
Carter has been invited to Oxford to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law by the University, as well as being elected to an Honorary Fellowship of Mansfield College.
Mansfield student Daniel Brodie criticised the College’s decision and warned against repercussions for the University’s reputation if they award the fellowship. "I personally was shocked when I heard that he was going to become a fellow because of his clearly anti-Semitic rhetoric. I think that there is something wrong in awarding a man a fellowship who has been denounced very strongly by the Anti-Defamation League," he said.
In his book, Carter claims that Israeli politics are to blame for continuing unrest in the Middle East, saying, "Israel’s continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land".
Carter responded in an opinion-editorial published in the Los Angeles Times last December, titled ‘Speaking frankly about Israel and Palestine.’ He rejected accusations that in his book he condoned violence against Jews or any other innocent peoples. "Obviously, I condemn any acts of terrorism or violence against innocent civilians, and I present information about the terrible casualties on both sides," he said.
He added that he felt accusations of anti-Semitism came from biased and under-informed sources and that he was troubled by such claims.
"Book reviews in the mainstream media have been written mostly by representatives of Jewish organisations who would be unlikely to visit the occupied territories, and their primary criticism is that the book is anti-Israel. My most troubling experience has been the rejection of my offers to speak, for free, about the book on university campuses with high Jewish enrolment and to answer questions from students and professors."
JCR President Alexander Morris expressed his support for the College’s decision and rejected any claims that this might show support for anti-Semitic views. "I find misguided and vaguely distasteful the insinuation that the college endorses anti-Semitism," he said.
