Update:  During his visit to the Middle East in late April, former President Jimmy Carter met with leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Egypt, Gaza and Syria.  In Syria, he held a meeting with Hamas supreme leader Khaled Meshaal.  Mr. Carter's trip and his heavily biased remarks against Israel were strongly criticized by the United States administration and the government of Israel, and was viewed by observers as unhelpful in moving the parties closer to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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New York, NY, April 11, 2008 … Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), issued the following statement regarding Jimmy Carter's announcement that he will meet with the head of the terrorist group Hamas:

Jimmy Carter does it again.  His decision to meet with the head of the terrorist group Hamas is one more example of the destructive role the former President is playing with regard to issues affecting Israel and American interests in the Middle East.

At a time when the anti-terrorist coalition of nations is struggling to maintain pressure on Hamas, Mr. Carter's action can only serve to undermine that effort.  Once again, Mr. Carter seems more comfortable with extremists and terrorists than with democratic friends like Israel, which he lambasted in his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.

It would be better for all if Mr. Carter would permanently remove the Middle East from his agenda.