Jimmy Carter, Inaugurator of National Menorah, Dies at 100

By COLlive reporter

The first U.S. president to ever publicly light a Chanukah menorah has died of old age on the holiday of Chanukah.

Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States, has died at his home in Plains, Georgia, it was announced on Sunday. At the age of 100, Carter was the oldest living former president in American history.

Carter, a Democrat, was a peanut farmer and US Navy lieutenant before going into politics, eventually serving one term as governor of Georgia and a single term as president from 1977 to 1981.

One of the highlights of Carter’s presidency was the brokering of the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel. It was signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

To reach the deal, Israel gave the entire Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, which included dismantling Israeli settlements in the Sinai, such as the town of Yamit. It was the first time Israel returned significant territory it had captured during the war, and this led to more pressure.

The Rebbe strongly opposed the deal, expressing significant concerns about its ramifications. The Rebbe believed that yielding land to enemies, especially without assurances of lasting peace, undermined Israel’s position and jeopardized its safety.

The peace deal with Egypt has lasted but has had significant challenges for Israel. For example, Egypt’s control over the border with Gaza has allowed the armament of the Hamas terror regime and the launching of the war on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,400 Israelis, wounding thousands, and kidnapping over 200 hostages.

VIDEO: Begin visits the Rebbe

EDUCATION AND MENORAH

Despite the differences on that important issue, the Rebbe supported President Carter’s plan to establish a Cabinet-level Department of Education. You have “my fullest endorsement and acclaim,” the Rebbe wrote to him.

In 1978, a Joint Resolution of Congress designated the 11th of Nissan, which is the Rebbe’s Jewish birthday, as “Education Day U.S.A.” President Carter signed it into law. Every year since, the acting president has designated the anniversary of the Rebbe’s birth as a day dedicated to educational awareness.

This day was instituted thanks to the visionary work of Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, the Rebbe’s Shliach to the White House, who also serves as Chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad International and American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) in Washington, DC.

“I am delighted that “Education Day – U.S.A.” falls on your birthday. It is a most fitting coincidence and I would like to take this opportunity of extending to you my personal best wishes for many more years of good health and fruitful work,” Carter wrote to the Rebbe.

Carter ran for re-election on November 4, 1980. Republican nominee, former Governor of California Ronald Reagan, defeated him in a landslide victory.

On November 4, 1979, the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, was stormed, and diplomatic staff were taken hostage. Carter’s inability to successfully negotiate the release of the hostages became a major political liability, CNN wrote. The hostages are released on January 20, 1981, the day of Reagan’s inauguration.

While dealing with that crisis, Carter took a great step in inaugurating the National Menorah built by Rabbi Shemtov in Lafayette Park across from the White House. Carter’s Jewish aid Stuart Eizenstat and his sons joined Carter in the lighting on the fourth night of Chanukah in 1979.

VIDEO: President Jimmy Carter inaugurates the National Menorah outside the White House on Dec. 17, 1979, during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

After the event, the Rebbe wrote to Carter: “I also take this opportunity of expressing to you my genuine gratification at your personal participation in the ceremony of lighting the Chanukah Candelabra in front of the White House. The symbol of light is universal for all people on earth, Jews and non-Jews. The intrinsic power of light, in that even a small light dispels a lot of darkness, is surely a source of inspiration to all men of good will with its eternal message of the eventual triumph of all that is good and bright in human life.”

After leaving the White House, Carter became a professor at Emory University and founded the Carter Center in Atlanta.

In later years, Carter has become openly critical of Israel. In November 2006, he wrote the book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” claiming that Israel oppresses the Palestinians and seeks to colonize the land.

He went a step further in April 2008 when he met with leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization in Cairo, Egypt. American and Israeli government officials protested the meeting, which was seen as legitimizing a violent group responsible for many deaths.