There’s an old adage in Jewish tradition: Chochmah ba’goyim ta’amin—wisdom can be found among the nations. It reminds us that while we may have deep and justified differences with world leaders and governments, there is a time and place for everything. On Sunday, YWN failed to grasp this nuance, publishing an inflammatory article that labeled former President Jimmy Carter a “champion of terrorists” mere hours after his passing.
Let me be clear – Carter’s record on Israel, particularly his soft approach to Yasser Arafat and his blind eye to Hamas, deserves attention. He made choices that many in the Jewish community found dangerous and offensive. But there is a line between holding someone accountable in life and spitting on their grave the moment they leave this world. YWN crossed that line.
This isn’t about shielding Carter’s legacy from criticism. It’s about understanding the broader implications of how we, as religious Jews, are perceived in the public sphere. By publishing such a vitriolic piece at this sensitive moment, YWN risks tarnishing not just their own reputation but that of the broader Orthodox community. We are not a fringe blog or a barroom discussion group—we are the visible representation of Torah values.
Carter’s policies were undeniably problematic for Israel. His 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid was deeply offensive and one-sided. He romanticized Palestinian leadership and perpetuated false narratives about Israel. Yet even as we reject his views, the Torah commands us to maintain kvod malchus—respect for leadership and the institutions that govern us, even when they are flawed. Carter wasn’t a dictator or tyrant; he was a democratically elected president of the United States, a nation that has stood by Israel and the Jewish people more than any other.
There is an undeniable catharsis in venting about Carter’s faults. Many of us remember his policies with frustration. But airing that frustration on a widely-read public platform with non-Jewish and non-Orthodox readers? That’s not just irresponsible; it’s dangerous.
When we publicly disrespect former presidents—even those we disliked—what message does that send to our non-Jewish neighbors, colleagues, and government officials? It breeds unnecessary animosity and reinforces harmful stereotypes about Orthodox Jews as ungrateful or divisive. Our strength has always been in our dignity, our refusal to stoop to petty insults or rage-filled rhetoric.
Consider the backlash if a Muslim news site had danced on the grave of a Jewish leader, or if a Christian outlet slandered an Orthodox public figure upon their passing. We would be the first to condemn such disrespect. We expect the same standard to apply to us.
I recognize the impulse to defend YWN’s right to publish this piece. After all, the press plays a crucial role in holding public figures accountable, even after their deaths. But freedom of speech does not absolve us of the responsibility to choose our words carefully.
Venting about Jimmy Carter over coffee in a shul or at home is one thing. Posting it for the world to see is quite another. YWN, as the largest Orthodox Jewish news platforms, must recognize the weight its voice carries. Their words aren’t just representing an editorial stance—they are seen as reflecting the views of the broader frum community.
When YWN chooses to engage in rhetoric that is hostile and disrespectful, it creates a ripple effect that can come back to harm Klal Yisroel. Non-Jews reading that piece are left with a skewed perception of Orthodox Jews as hostile and ungrateful, feeding into narratives we should be working hard to dispel.
YWN has done much good for Klal Yisroel, providing important news coverage and a platform for Orthodox Jewish voices. But even the most well-intentioned outlets misstep. This was one of those times.
The solution is simple: correct or delete the article. Reframe the critique in a way that addresses Carter’s policies without disrespecting the office he held or the nation he led. There are ways to make our point without compromising our values or integrity.
By taking this step, YWN can demonstrate that it understands the gravity of public discourse and that it is committed to protecting the reputation of the Orthodox community. It’s not about erasing history or sugarcoating Carter’s record—it’s about upholding the derech eretz that defines us as a people.
To the editors at YWN: the next time an opportunity arises to comment on the death of a controversial figure, remember this—silence is sometimes the loudest statement of all. Let the world say what they will. Our responsibility is to reflect the values of Torah, humility, and respect, even when it’s hard.
Let’s not allow the frustration of the past to dictate our response to the present. Klal Yisroel deserves better. And so does our reputation.
Sincerely,
S.B.
The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.
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20 Responses
He’s dead. Politicians have to say nice things. The truth also needs to be told.
I completely disagree. Carter, yimach shemo was one of the worst enemies of the Jewish people and there is no reason to kowtow to the Jew haters who lived him or display chaniffa to those who are indifferent to Carter’s poison towards the Jews. Kudos to YWN for calling an anti-Semitic spade an anti-Semitic spade.
The letter writer is 100% correct. Sadly this just addresses the tip of the iceberg. The lack of nuance and intelligent reporting is endemic to YWN and frum media overall. Racy clickbait headlines are the name of the game. Carter’s legacy left much to be desired with regard to Palestinian issues but he was helpful to Israel and Jews in many other matters. He negotiated the Camp David Peace Accords. He was a strong advocate for Russian Jewry in general and Natan Sharansky in particular. He eased entry requirements and enabled thousands of Jews fleeing the Mullahs in Iran to enter the United States. He advocated for the release of Israeli POWs and Gilad Shalit. Carter even apologized for the damage he caused Israel with his book and published a public Al Chet article.
Former USA President Jimmy Carter blamed THE JEWS for his failure to be re-elected to a second 4-year term, even though 85% of American Jews voted for him, in that election.
Only African-Americans were more likely to vote for Jimmy Carter, in that election.
I remember this clearly (yes, I really am that old).
Jimmy Carter said:
“I wish that the Jews would love me as much they love my mother.”
He said that, even though 85% of American Jews voted for him.
I remember this clearly (yes, I really am that old).
He took revenge against Jews by publishing a book in which he falsely accused Israel of being an apartheid state, while ignoring many Arab counties that really are [or were] apartheid states.
When Jimmy Carter was President, the USA was losing its struggle against both inflation and the Soviet Union (USSR).
When Israel refused to make suicidal concessions in negotiations with their genocidal terrorist enemies, Jimmy Carter publicly accused Israel – and ONLY Israel — of being “intransigent”.
The problems with negotiations were never blamed on genocidal terrorist Arabs, only Israel was blamed.
When Jimmy Carter looked at the Arab leaders, his facial expression was like that of a teacher looking at his best student, who always behaves correctly and scores 100% on every test.
When Jimmy Carter looked at the Prime Minister of Israel, his facial expression was like that of a teacher looking at his worst student, who does nothing but cause problems.
I remember this clearly (yes, I really am that old).
I remember my fellow Jews and I feeling that Jimmy Carter was far from being a friend of Israel.
I remember this clearly (yes, I really am that old).
When Jimmy Carter was USA President, my local Orthodox synagogue stopped reciting the public prayer for the USA President, for the first time ever.
I remember this clearly (yes, I really am that old).
President Barack Hussein Obama said that Jimmy Carter was his role model.
If you remember what Obama was like, then this is very big criticism of Jimmy Carter.
He’ll burn in hell together with his other nobel peace friends – arafat, rabin, peres.
Very well put. Carter was a man of peace in his own estimations, which were sincere. He did not deserve open hostility from the Jewish press, certainly not from the orthodox Jewish press which should recognize this. The peace accords he prompted should never have been agreed to, but that onus is more on us, not as much on well-meaning secular, non-Jewish leaders like Carter. His book was not deliberately filled with errors either, and therefore, are somewhat excusable. This is not the case with Obama’s account though, which was pre-mediated with mis-facts.
…”reckless attack on Jimmy Carter”…lol. if this letter was not written by a troll then it’s disgusting that this letter-writer has a problem with calling a out a virulent, anti-Semite who was a “champion of terrorists “.
The saying מצורע אחרי מות קדושים אמור is not a recommendation; it’s not a mitzvah. It’s a sad reflection on the hypocrisy of certain people. Carter was the same terrible person before he died as he is after, and the fact that he has gone to his long-belated punishment is no reason to praise him, or to refrain from telling the truth about him.
This is not just about the Jews. If he had been a good and beloved president, on all issues except ours, then the writer’s concern might have been valid. If everyone else were praising him, and here come the Jews and point out that he was an antisemite through and through, then perhaps it could lead to resentment against us. Why do we have to raise his one flaw at such a time?
But it isn’t just about us. He was a terrible president for the whole country, and a terrible ex-president too. He should have been arrested for his antics in North Korea, and charged with violating the Logan Act. And many others are pointing these things out. It’s not as if we’re the only ones.
How do you think the “mainstream” news industry, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat Party, will react when Trump dies, or when Netanyahu dies? Do you imagine they will be respectful?! Do you imagine they will be quiet? No, of course not. It will be “Ding dong the witch is dead”. They will make a yomtov and pass out candy. So they should not expect anything else from us and from all patriotic Americans who are disgusted by him and his legacy.
James Earl Carter, Rot In Hell.
The author is right.
One might speculate that if not for the Zionist idol, 99% of the bashing – of this former leader of this medinah shel chessed – would not have happened.
There is no Torah value to bash a dead President of the USA upon his passing. And, as the author implies, doing so may appear to gentiles as crude and inappropriate, especially coming from the am haNivchar. We are not infantile “influencers”. We are the noble children of Hashem.
It’s okay to analyze his performance and policies, as the author indicated. But (other than about a figure like Theodore Herzl or Adolf Hitler or some other truly terrible beast) trashing him upon his death is simply wrong, as the author noted.
I’m reminded of a wonderful song, put out by Miami Boys Choir, approximately 1978.….
MR. CARTER- Miami Boys Choir- Composed By Yerachmiel Begun- Miami Meets Toronto
VERSE 1:
We all thought that you would be a great president,
That’s what our votes in November meant (That’s what they meant)
We had so many hopes that you would see our plight,
Was it the oil that spoiled your sight?
CHORUS:
Mr. Carter,
Wadda you want, from meeeee?
You’re a farmer, ooooh, you have your land,
That’s what we want, can’t you see.
VERSE 2:
Every time we get together, West Bank is a factor,
Vus veist a goy vus schlepped a tractor,
It wouldn’t be the same if it’s your son Chip,
Helping soldiers watch the Gaza Strip.
CHORUS:
Mr. Carter,
Wadda you want, from meeeee?
You’re a farmer, ooooh, you have your land,
That’s what we want, can’t you see.
VERSE 3:
You came fresh from Sunday school, a Bible in your belt,
Smiled and schnorred a bissel gelt,
In return, we asked for peanuts, you answered so very well,
You keep the nuts; the Arabs get the shells.
CHORUS:
Mr. Carter,
Wadda you want, from meeeee?
You’re a farmer, ooooh, you have your land,
That’s what we want, can’t you see.
VERSE 4:
You campaigned for president, you always came to dinner,
Tell me, who expected such a vinner?
Better find another house for you and your first lady,
You’re moving out in 1980!
CHORUS:
Mr. Carter,
Wadda you want, from meeeeeeeee?
You’re a farmer, ooooh, you have your land,
That’s what we want, can’t you see.
(x2)
The right words but in the wrong place . . .
The disgusting language YWN has used while breaking the news was despicable, and falls in line with their blind support for the מושחת ומנוול president Elon Trump.
Now that the MAGA zero knowledge of governance and infighting begins, YWN should bare some responsibility for feeding Am Yisroel with this idiocy all along, by pretending that he falls in line with the hardline Israel agenda.
YOU’RE ABOUT TO BE VERY DISSAPOINTED INEED!
How ridiculous. Never mind how bad Carter was or wasn’t. The vilest things are said daily by news outlets about SITTING presidents or recent ex-presidents, but YWN now has to delicately tiptoe around this guy who’s been out of office for decades because he died? (Best thing he’s done in a while.) Sorry, but the public political discourse is what it is.The rule “Don’t speak I’ll of the dead” is from a different era.
I understand and agree that a frum news site should have higher standards, but there’s no reason we can’t be critical.
Besides, I think you’re giving YWN a bit too much credit to think that anyone out there in the non-Jewish world will care what they have to say.
crazy,
Carter spent the past 45 years urinating on Jews. You and the other three woke quislings on this site opened your mouths, drank it down and are angry that we don’t all thank this hell-bound peanut farmer for making it rain.
What a pitiful bunch of mah-yafis kapos you are!
Kudos to this letter writer (I personally think it’s an editorial board member as all these Mailbag letters are written in the same style).
If this site is read by others outside the community, as YWN claims, then it’s definitely not our place to bash former presidents.
Let us not forget עשו שונא את יעקב
– no need to give them fodder to fuel their antisemitic tendencies.
I agree we should not just be criticizing antisemites upon their death we should be criticizing them all throughout their life and upon their deaths.
The letter writer is correct. Though this is just an example of a bigger issue. YWN, we love the service you provide. But please, as a news outlet, you must try to stay unbiased. The community needs you to tell us the facts relevant to the Jewish community. We do not need your opinions. Let us decide on our own what to do with the information you provide us. Your job is to provide news, and that is it. Please keep your wording neutral!
I don’t understand what this debate is ? Carter was a rasha as clearly indicated by his behavior upon leaving the Oval Office. The regulations of the Presidency did not allow him to receive millions in funds from the Saudis, Yemen, Syria and other mideastern countries while in office. His true Sinah for Jews came out once those shackles were loosened.
His peace accords was nothing but as a result of threatening Begin to the core. Begin was bullied in Camp David with no place to escape except into the woods surrounding Camp David. Begin was held hostage there until he agreed. Carter is from the old school of Christians that hate Jews with their heart and soul.
We can criticize this anti semite rasha. May his ashes be spread over his peanut farms.
what a huge waste of electrons. the entire letter tap dances around the issue, which can be stated clearly and concisely: “but what will the goyim say?” chickens who vote for kfc are neither respected nor feared. they are eaten.
1) I don’t recall this level of concern when George W Bush was called ChimpyMcHitlerHalliburton and slandered.
2) I don’t recall this level of concern when Donald Trump is slandered as worse than Hitler, as a rapist, goniv, etc etc etc.
Obviously the writer of this article is a left wing Democrat who does not have principles that our leaders should not be slandered, only that we should not call out antisemites.
Carter was an ineffective president. He did two good things. He introduced deregulation that was continued with Ronald Reagan, and he kept Paul Volcker to help tame inflation. That’s it. He was a catastrophe on foreign policy and he supported terrorists. He had nearly nothing to do with Camp David and Begin and Sadat. Begin and Sadat forged peace. They needed a checkbook and USA was the best candidate to fund the terms of the agreement.
This is written by a leftist who has no qualms about slandering conservatives who advance Jewish values but who objects to telling the truth about liberals who advocate support for those who kill Jews.
Shame on you.
Editorial signed by S.B.
He forgot “O.” in between.