Former President Jimmy Carter, author of the excreble “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid” has had a conversion experience.

Former President Jimmy Carter apologized for any words or deeds that may have upset the Jewish community in an open letter meant to improve an often-tense relationship.

He said he was offering an Al Het, a prayer said on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. It signifies a plea for forgiveness.

"We must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel," Mr. Carter said in the letter, which was first sent to JTA, a wire service for Jewish newspapers, and provided Wednesday to the Associated Press. "As I would have noted at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but which is appropriate at any time of the year, I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so."

Well, that’s nice. Anyone wonder: “Why now?”

Good. You should.

Mr. Carter did not explain his timing, but the letter comes weeks after his grandson, Jason Carter, said he would run for a Georgia state Senate seat being vacated by President Obama's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Singapore. If David Adelman is confirmed as ambassador in January, Jason Carter will be a candidate in a March special election in the northeast Atlanta district.

Jason Carter, who is running in a district with a vocal Jewish population, said in a statement that his grandfather's letter was completely unrelated to his campaign and hailed the apology as a "great step towards reconciliation."

I’d like to think that the apology is sincere, but we’ll have to wait to see if Carter’s actions continue in the spirit of the apology or of the millions of dollars he’s received from rich sheiks from the Middle East.