Mddle East peace could begin in the Midwest, at Illinois College in Jacksonville. Why not? The historic progressive institution is thinking big and reaching wide by inviting Jimmy Carter, the former president and indefatigable peace campaigner, to speak there on Tuesday, Oct. 14, initiating the college’s Pathways to Peace proposal for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Carter, who presided over the 1978 Camp David Accords, wrote earlier this year that unity of the Palestinian government and that government’s decision to embrace the United Nations provides new opportunities for peace. Though Carter frequently exasperates the American Jewish community with his criticism of Israel’s policies, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient has standing and credibility for his proposals to be taken seriously. And the time may be right for a war-weary world to act on good and hopeful ideas. Carter’s 1:15 p.m. lecture at Sherman Gymnasium is free and open to the public. It will be followed with discussion by a panel including former congressman Paul Findley and Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, who heads an international conglomerate based in the United Arab Emirates –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher
This article appears in Oct 9-15, 2014.
