Feed: Jimmy Carter sued for alleged deceptions, fraud against Israel - AggScore: 13.0

Jimmy Carter sued for alleged deceptions, fraud against Israel

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caption id alignalignleft width150 captionFormer President Carter must face a lawsuit that alleges he039s lied about Israel039s actions against the Palestinians. Photo Police Times img srchttpcdn2b.examiner.comsitesdefaultfilesstyleslargehashc928c92808e36140d8b3f647ac01e948934c.jpg alt width150 captionIn a firstofitskind legal battle, a former U.S. President, as well as Nobel Peace Prize winner, is being sued for alleged deceptions and fraudulent statements against the State of IsraeldivThe lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in New York Cityagainst former President Jimmy Carter and his publisher, Simon amp Schuster, alleging that Carters nonfictionbook, emPalestine Peace Not Apartheidem, contained numerous false and knowingly misleading statements intended to promote the authors agenda of antiIsrael propaganda and to deceive the reading public instead of presenting accurate information as advertised.divdivThe suit Unterberg et al. v. Jimmy Carter et .al 11 cv 0720 filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeks bothcompensatory and punitive damages.divThe plaintiffs, who hope to have the case certified as a class action, are members of the reading public who purchased Carters book expecting that they were buying an accurate and factual record of historic events concerning Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.The class actionlawsuit accuses Carter who holds himself out as a MiddleEast expert and his publisher ofintentionallypromulgating untrue and inaccurate information and sought to capitalize on the authorsnotoriety as a former U.S.President to mislead unsuspecting members of the public.The complaint alleges that the defendants misrepresentations, all highly critical of Israel, violate New York consumer protection laws, specifically New York General Business Law section 349, which makes it unlawful to engage in deceptive acts in the course of conducting business. While acknowledging Carters right to publish his personal views, the plaintiffs assert that the defendants violated the law and, thus, harmed those who purchased the book.The suit is the first time a former President and a publishing house have been sued for violating consumer protection laws by knowingly publishing inaccurate information while promoting a book as factual.divIn January 2007, when Carters decidedly antiIsrael book emPalestine Peace not Apartheidem was released, 14 board membersfrom his charitable foundation wrote President Carter a letter of resignation. In their collective resignation letter they wroteThe Palestinian side has consistently resorted to acts of terror as a national expression and elected parties endorsing the use of terror, the rejection of territorial compromise and of Israels right to exist. Palestinian leaders have had chances since 1947 to have their own state, including during your own presidency when they snubbed your efforts.divdivCarters also metwith Khaled Mashal, leader of the terrorist group Hamas, in Damascus, Syria on April 18th, 2008 a meeting that angereda ranking GOP lawmaker who is Jewish.divdivAs Hamas rockets and mortars continue to rain down on innocent Israelis in Sderot, Jimmy Cartergave legitimacy to a man whose bottom line is the destruction of the state of Israel, said Congressman EricCantor RAL.divdivBefore President Carter leaps into his attacks about Israeli occupation, he should tour the neighborhoods and hospitals where over 5,000 Hamas rockets exploded in Israel just three years after Israel withdrew from every last inch of Gaza, said the popular lawmaker at the time of the CarterHamas meeting.divdivThe plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit are being represented by attorney David Schoen, Esq. of Montgomery, Alabama and attorney Nitsana DarshanLeitner, Esq. of TelAviv, Israel. With over 25 years in practice,Schoen has extensive, complex litigation experience as lead counsel in trial and appellate courts throughout the country. He is a member of the Bar in Alabama, New York, Maryland, and the District of Columbia and has been admitted to practice law in all state and federal courts in those jurisdictions, as well as federal trial courts in Michigan and Texas and other federal courts of appeals.divThe complaint notes that after the books publication some of Carters closest associates, including distinguished public officials and scholars personally involved in the events described, condemned the book as untruthful. Despite being presented with irrefutable proof that many of representations in the book are false, the defendants have refused to make any corrections.Attorney Schoen stated that It is, indeed, a sad day for all of us as Americans, when a former President demeans the dignity of his office by intentionally misstating critically important facts concerning events of great historic significance and public interest, simply to advance a personal antiIsrael animus and to foster the agenda of the enemies of Israel who pump so much money into the Center which bears his name.Attorney DarshanLeitner stated that The lawsuit will expose all the falsehoods and misrepresentations in Carters book and prove that his hatred of Israel has led him to commit this fraud on the public. He is entitled to his opinions but deceptions and lies have no place in works of history.