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Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

Cover showing the author, left, and protesters at the Israeli West Bank barrier, right
Author	Jimmy Carter
Cover artist	Michael Accordino
Language	English
Subject	Political Science
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	14 November 2006
Publication place	United States of America
Media type	Hardback
Pages	264
ISBN	ISBN 978-0-7432-8502-5 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded by	Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid is a book written by Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Carter believes that "Israel's continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive peace agreement in the Holy Land."

The book states that Israel's current policies in the Palestinian territories constitute "a system of apartheid, with two peoples occupying the same land but completely separated from each other, with Israelis totally dominant and suppressing violence by depriving Palestinians of their basic human rights."

Carter said that his purpose in writing the book was to "present facts about the Middle East that are largely unknown in America, to precipitate discussion and to help restart peace talks (now absent for six years) that can lead to permanent peace for Israel and its neighbors."

Major points in the book

Carter identifies "two interrelated obstacles to permanent peace in the Middle East":

Some Israelis believe they have the right to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land and try to justify the sustained subjugation and persecution of increasingly hopeless and aggravated Palestinians; and

Some Palestinians react by honoring suicide bombers as martyrs to be rewarded in heaven and consider the killing of Israelis as victories.

To bring an end to what he calls "this continuing tragedy," in Chapter 17 of the book, Carter calls for a revitalization of the peace process following these two "key requirements":

a. The security of Israel must be guaranteed. The Arabs must acknowledge openly and specifically that Israel is a reality and has a right to exist in peace, behind secure and recognized borders, and with a firm Arab pledge to terminate any further acts of violence against the legally constituted nation of Israel.

b. The internal debate within Israel must be resolved in order to define Israel's permanent legal boundary. The unwavering official policy of the United States since Israel became a state has been that its borders must coincide with those prevailing from 1949 until 1967 (unless modified by mutually agreeable land swaps), specified in the unanimously adopted U.N. Resolution 242, which mandates Israel's withdrawal from occupied territories. This obligation was reconfirmed by Israel's leaders in agreements negotiated in 1978 at Camp David and in 1993 at Oslo, for which they received the Nobel Peace Prize, and both of these commitments were officially ratified by the Israeli government. Also, as a member of the International Quartet that includes Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union, America supports the Roadmap for Peace, which espouses exactly the same requirements. Palestinian leaders unequivocally accepted this proposal, but Israel has officially rejected its key provisions with unacceptable caveats and prerequisites.

Praise

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, in a piece published by the Institute for Middle East Understanding on November 15, 2006, finds that Carter's book "eloquently describes the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip . . . his book challenges Americans to see the conflict with eyes wide open."

In an article published in The Nation on November 20, 2006, Michael F. Brown characterizes the book's title as "extraordinarily bold--and apt" and suggests that "Perhaps President Carter should send copies of his book to members of Congress. . . . they might learn a thing or two about the long-festering conflict at the heart of so many of our current troubles in the region."

Writing for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on November 29, 2006, John Dugard says that Carter's book "is igniting controversy for its allegation that Israel practices a form of apartheid"; he supports Carter's analysis, arguing that "Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories has many features of colonization. At the same time it has many of the worst characteristics of apartheid."

Sherri Muzher, founder of Michigan Media Watch, writes in the The Arab American News on December 5, 2006: "Nobody expects instant miracles to come from Carter’s book, but hopefully, it will spark the sort of robust discussions that even Israeli society and media already engage in."

As posted on December 6, ], Rabbi Michael Lerner in Berkeley, California, calls Carter "the only president to have actually delivered for the Jewish people an agreement (the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt) that has stood the test of time" and continues "We know that critique is often an essential part of love and caring. That is precisely what Jimmy Carter is trying to do for Israel and the Jewish people in his new book". He further stresses that "Carter does not claim that Israel is an apartheid state. What he does claim is that the West Bank will be a de facto apartheid situation if the current dynamics . . . continue."

In his column published in The Toronto Sun on December 15, 2006, Sid Ryan writes:

Former U.S. president Carter is just the latest world figure to openly challenge the policies of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. He joins Rev. Desmond Tutu, another Nobel Prize winner. Each time a trade union or church group or world leader steps forward to break the cone of silence around this issue, the more difficult it becomes for the lobby groups to spew their propaganda.

On the same day, blogging in The Middle East Online (blog) and calling President Carter, "Saint James of Plains," Ben Tanosborn calls President Carter "Saint James of Plains," commenting: "Let’s have for the first time ever in this country a thorough and honest debate on the issues that create this conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and make America part of the solution instead of being the lion’s share of the problem."

Brad Hooper, writing for the American Library Association, says that Carter "posits that the stumbling blocks to a lasting cessation of armed conflict are to be found within two contexts: Israel's unwillingness to comply with international law and honor its previous peace commitments, and Arab nations' refusal to openly acknowledge Israel's right to live undisturbed" and describes Carter's approach as representing "a personal point of view, but one that is certainly grounded in both knowledge and wisdom."

Criticism and Response

Politicians and lawmakers

Prior to the 2006 mid-term election and before the book was published, Democrats criticized the former Democratic President's book.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean wrote that, "While I have tremendous respect for former President Carter, I fundamentally disagree and do not support his analysis of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Dean's statement said, "On this issue President Carter speaks for himself, the opinions in his book are his own, they are not the views or position of the Democratic Party. I and other Democrats will continue to stand with Israel in its battle against terrorism and for a lasting peace with its neighbors."

Future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stated that the book does not represent the Democratic parties views on Israel, "It is wrong to suggest that the Jewish people would support a government in Israel or anywhere else that institutionalizes ethnically based oppression, and Democrats reject that allegation vigorously. With all due respect to former President Carter, he does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel."

U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. wrote, "I cannot agree with the book’s title and its implications about apartheid...I recently called the former president to express my concerns about the title of the book, and to request that the title be changed.” The title “does not serve the cause of peace and the use of it...is offensive and wrong,” says Conyers.

U.S. Representative Steve Israel wrote, "The reason for the Palestinian plight is the Palestinians. Their leadership has no regard for the quality of life for their people and no capability of providing security or enforcing peace, and they have no one to blame but themselves.” He also added that the "book clearly does not reflect the direction of the party; it reflects the opinion of one man."

U.S. Representatives Charlie Rangel and Jerrold Nadler also released statements critical of the book.

Academics

Alan Dershowitz

In an article published in The New York Sun, Alan Dershowitz, a professor at Harvard Law School and author of several books on the Arab-Israeli conflict (including "The Case For Israel"), identifies factual inaccuracies in Carter's book, including Carter's assertions that "Israel launche preemptive attacks on Egypt, Syria, Iraq and then Jordan" in the 1967 Six-Day War and that "Jordan attacked Israel first, Israel tried desperately to persuade Jordan to remain out of the war, and Israel counterattacked after the Jordanian army surrounded Jerusalem, firing missiles into the center of the city." In that article Dershowitz also argues that Carter was not sufficiently forthcoming about qualifying his parallel to South African apartheid, writing, " use of the loaded word 'apartheid,' suggesting an analogy to the hated policies of South Africa, is especially outrageous, considering his acknowledgment buried near the end of his shallow and superficial book that what is going on in Israel today 'is unlike that in South Africa—not racism, but the acquisition of land'."

Carter has responded to such accusations of factual inaccuracies by saying that his book was fact-checked by Carter Center staff as well as by an unnamed "distinguished" reporter. In an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Carter acknowledged Dershowitz's criticisms directly and wrote, "Out in the real world, however, the response has been overwhelmingly positive."

Dershowitz has also criticized Jimmy Carter for comments that the former president made in an interview with David Shuster on MSNBC in which Carter stated: "he persecution of the Palestinians now, under the occupying territories . . . is one of the worst examples of human rights deprivation that I know." When asked whether he believes it to be "even worse . . . than a place like Rwanda," Carter replied "yes" and then clarified that he was referring to conditions in Rwanda now and not to past events in that country; but he declined to pursue the comparison further.

In his blog post of December 8, 2006, in The Huffington Post, Dershowitz accuses Carter of trivializing the Rwandan genocide through his comments.

Carter was invited to speak about his book at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, by its President Jehuda Reinharz, but Carter declined because he was also invited to debate Alan Dershowitz. Carter asserted: "I don't want to have a conversation even indirectly with Dershowitz." Carter continued: "There is no need to for me to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine." In an op-ed, published in The Boston Globe, on December 21, 2006, Dershowitz replied: "As Carter knows, I've been to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, many times -- certainly more times than Carter has been there -- and I've written three books dealing with the subject of Middle Eastern history, politics, and the peace process. The real reason Carter won't debate me is that I would correct his factual errors. It's not that I know too little; it's that I know too much." Dershowitz also added: "Carter’s refusal to debate wouldn’t be so strange if it weren’t for the fact that he claims that he wrote the book precisely so as to start debate over the issue of the Israel-Palestine peace process. If that were really true, Carter would be thrilled to have the opportunity to debate."

Dershowitz further adjures:

Nor is Carter the unbiased observer of the Middle East that he claims to be. He has accepted money and an award from Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan , saying in 2001: "This award has special significance for me because it is named for my personal friend, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan." This is the same Zayed, the long-time ruler of the United Arab Emirates, whose $2.5 million gift to the Harvard Divinity School was returned in 2004 due to Zayed's rampant Jew-hatred. Zayed's personal foundation, the Zayed Center, claims that it was Zionists, rather than Nazis, who "were the people who killed the Jews in Europe" during the Holocaust. It has held lectures on the blood libel and conspiracy theories about Jews and America perpetrating Sept. 11. Carter's acceptance of money from this biased group casts real doubt on his objectivity and creates an obvious conflict of interest.

Kenneth Stein

In an open letter published in The New York Sun, on December 8, 2006, as reported by the Associated Press, Kenneth W. Stein, a professor of Middle Eastern history and Israeli studies at Emory University, who was the founder of the Middle East program at the Carter Center and the Carter Center's first executive director until 1993, observes:

President Carter's book on the Middle East, a title too inflammatory to even print, is not based on unvarnished analysis; it is replete with factual errors, copied materials not cited, superficialities, glaring omissions, and simply invented segments.

In his letter sent to President Carter and others, Stein also says that

Aside from the one-sided nature of the book, meant to provoke, there are recollections cited from meetings where I was the third person in the room, and my notes of those meetings show little similarity to points claimed in the book.

. . . .

Being a former President does not give one a unique privilege to invent information or to unpack it with cuts, deftly slanted to provide a particular outlook. Having little access to Arabic and Hebrew sources, I believe, clearly handicapped his understanding and analyses of how history has unfolded over the last decade.

Stein has not yet provided a full outline of what he regards as factual errors.

In response to Professor Stein's criticisms, officials for the publisher, Simon & Schuster, state:

We haven't seen these allegations, we haven't seen any specifics, and I have no way of assessing anything he has said. . . . This is all about nothing. We stand behind the book fully, and the fact that there has been a divided reaction to it is not surprising.

Carter has said that Stein's role in the Center was from "ancient times" and that his recent position was only "honorary." According to Carter biographer Douglas Brinkley, Stein and Carter have a "passionate, up-and-down relationship," and Stein has previously criticized statements that Carter has made about Israel.

Diplomatic personnel

Dennis Ross

Ambassador Dennis Ross, the United States' chief Middle East envoy during the Clinton administration, has said maps used in Carter's book were similar to maps published previously in his book, The Missing Peace. The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace: "I looked at the maps and the maps he uses are maps that are drawn basically from my book. There's no other way they could -- even if he says they come from another place. They came originally from my book."

Ross insists that Carter's interpretation of the maps was "just simply wrong." Whereas in his book Carter presents the maps as an "Israeli interpretation of the Clinton idea," according to Ross, who played a key role in shaping the Clinton administration's efforts to bring peace to the region, the maps in fact represented Clinton's proposals exactly. Responding to a question posed by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, Ross stated that Carter was also "wrong" to suggest that Israel had rejected the American proposals at Camp David: "his is a matter of record. This is not a matter of interpretation."

Ross concludes: "President Carter made a major contribution to peace in the Middle East. That's the reality. . . . I would like him to meet the same standard that he applied then to what he's doing now."Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Carter has responded by stating that he had "never seen" Ross's book and that the maps "came from an atlas that's publicly available." Specifically, he noted their origin in an atlas from the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem.

General response from Carter

Carter has responded to negative reviews in the mainstream media:

Book reviews in the mainstream media have been written mostly by representatives of Jewish organisations who would be unlikely to visit the occupied territories, and their primary criticism is that the book is anti-Israel. Two members of Congress have been publicly critical. Some reviews posted on Amazon.com call me "anti-semitic," and others accuse the book of "lies" and "distortions". A former Carter Centre fellow has taken issue with it, and Alan Dershowitz called the book's title "indecent". Out in the real world, however, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

When asked by Larry King on CNN why in his book he uses the word "apartheid" with reference to Israel, Carter replied that "the first word in the title is 'Palestine,' not Israel", "the second word in the title is 'peace'", "and the last two words are 'not apartheid.'" He said: "I never have alleged in the book or otherwise that Israel, as a nation, was guilty of apartheid. But there is a clear distinction between the policies within the nation of Israel and within the occupied territories that Israel controls..."

Carter has also said that debate on issues concerning Israel are silenced in the U.S. media because of lobbying efforts by the pro-Israel lobby:

any controversial issues concerning Palestine and the path to peace for Israel are intensely debated among Israelis and throughout other nations — but not in the United States. . . . This reluctance to criticize any policies of the Israeli government is because of the extraordinary lobbying efforts of the American-Israel Political Action Committee and the absence of any significant contrary voices.

Carter stresses that he hopes to tear down the "impenetrable wall" that stops the American people from seeing the plight of Palestinians. In an op-ed published in The Boston Globe on December 20, 2006, Carter rejects critics of his book as not actually having addressed the major points contained in it:

Not surprisingly, an examination of the book reviews and published comments reveals that these points have rarely if ever been mentioned by detractors of the book, much less denied or refuted. Instead, there has been a pattern of ad hominem statements, alleging that I am a liar, plagiarist, anti-Semite, racist, bigot, ignorant, etc. There are frequent denunciations of fabricated "straw man" accusations: that I have claimed that apartheid exists within Israel; that the system of apartheid in Palestine is based on racism; and that Jews control and manipulate the news media of America.

Notes

1. ^ Excerpt: Carter's 'Palestine Peace Not Apartheid', ABC News
2. ^ Jennifer Siegel (27 October 2006). "Dems Repudiate Carter Book". Forward.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. ^ "Speaking Frankly about Israel and Palestine," The Los Angeles Times December 8, 2006, accessed December 23, 2006.
4. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha (November 15, 2006). "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, by Jimmy Carter". Institute for Middle East Understanding. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Michael F. Brown (November 20, 2006). "Dems Rebut Carter on Israeli 'Apartheid'". The Nation. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. John Dugard (November 29, 2006). "Israelis adopt what South Africa dropped". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. Sherri Muzher (2006-12-05). "Title is Reality for Palestinians". Jordan Times, et al. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
8. Michael Lerner (December 6, 2006). "Thank You, Jimmy Carter". TomPaine.com (blog). Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. Book review of Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid, American Library Association, posted online in ThePerfectSystem.net.
10. "U.S. lawmaker chides Carter on 'apartheid'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
11. Jennifer Siegel (October 17, 2006). "Carter Book Slaps Israel With 'Apartheid' Tag, Provides Ammo to GOP". Forward.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. ^ "The World According to Carter". New York Sun. 2006-11-22. Retrieved 2 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
13. Associated Press (2006-12-08). "Former President Jimmy Carter defends his book's criticism of Israeli policy". Boston Examiner. Retrieved 9 December. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
14. David Shuster, "'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Nov. 28," MSNBC November 29, 2006, accessed December 21, 2006.

    CARTER: . . . he persecution of the Palestinians now, under the occupying territories ... is one of the worst examples of human rights deprivation that I know.
    SHUSTER: Even worse, though, than a place like Rwanda?
    CARTER: Yes. I think—yes. You mean, now?
    SHUSTER: Yes.
    CARTER: Yes.
    SHUSTER: The oppression now of the Israelis—of the Palestinians by the Israelis is worse than the situation in Africa like the oppression of Rwanda and the civil war?
    CARTER: I'm not going back into ancient history about Rwanda, but right now, the persecution of the Palestinians is one of the worst examples of human rights abuse I know, because the Palestinians—
    SHUSTER: You're talking about right now, you're not talking about say, a few years ago.
    CARTER: I'm not talking about ancient history, no.
    SHUSTER: Rwanda wasn't ancient history; it was just a few years ago.
    CARTER: You can talk about Rwanda if you want to. I want to talk about Palestine. What is being done to the Palestinians now is horrendous in their own territory .... They're taken away all the basic human rights of the Palestinians, as was done in South Africa against the blacks.

15. Alan Dershowitz, "Jimmy Carter Trivializes Rwandan Genocide," The Huffington Post December 8, 2006.
16. Farah Stockman and Marcella Bombardieri (2006-12-15). "Carter book won't stir Brandeis debate: Ex-president was to outline view on Palestinians". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
17. ^ Alan Dershowitz, "Why Won't Carter Debate His Book?" The Boston Globe December 21, 2006, December 23, 2006.
18. Associated Press (December 8, 2006). "President Carter's New Book Spurs Aide To Resign". The New York Sun. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. Kenneth Stein (December 7, 2006). "FOX Facts: Dr. Kenneth W. Stein's Letter (reprint)". FOX News. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. Karen DeYoung (December 7, 2006). "Carter Book on Israel 'Apartheid' Sparks Bitter Debate". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. Josh Getlin (December 8, 2006). "Maps in Carter's book are questioned". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. Associated Press (December 8, 2006). "Former President Jimmy Carter defends his book's criticism of Israeli policy". Boston Examiner. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. Christian Boone (December 6, 2006). "Adviser breaks with Carter on Mideast book". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2006-12-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. ^ Dennis Ross, Interview, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, CNN December 8, 2006. Cite error: The named reference "ross" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
25. ^ Jimmy Carter, "Israel, Palestine, Peace and Apartheid," The Guardian December 12, 2006.
26. "Interview with Jimmy Carter," Larry King Live, CNN November 27, 2006.
27. Jimmy Carter, "Reiterating the Keys to Peace," The Boston Globe December 20, 2006

References

Book reviews

• Goldberg, Jeffrey (2006-12-10). "What Would Jimmy Do?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Related opinion-editorials and interviews by Jimmy Carter

• Interview with Jimmy Carter. Rush transcript. Larry King Live. CNN November 27, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2006.
• "Israel, Palestine, Peace and Apartheid: Americans Need to Know the Facts about the Abominable Oppression of the Palestinians." London Guardian December 12, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2006. Rpt. from The Los Angeles Times of December 8, 2006.
• "Last Word: Jimmy Carter: Revisiting 'Apartheid'." Interview with Jimmy Carter regarding Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid published in Newsweek and featured by MSNBC.
• "Speaking Frankly about Israel and Palestine." The Los Angeles Times December 8, 2006, Op-Ed. Accessed December 23, 2006. Rpt. in The Guardian on December 12, 2006.
• "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid...Jimmy Carter in His Own Words." Interview conducted by Amy Goodman. Democracy Now! November 30, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2006. Incl. audio link to interview and "rush transcript."
• "Reiterating the Keys to Peace." The Boston Globe December 20, 2006, Op-Ed. Accessed December 23, 2006.

News accounts by others

• Bosman, Julie. "Carter View of Israeli 'Apartheid' Stirs Furor." The New York Times December 12, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2006. (SelectTimes subscription required.)

External links

• Excerpt: Chapter 17, featured by publisher Simon and Schuster, also featured as Excerpt by ABC News
• Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Simon and Schuster book description. (Links to Podcast.)
  • SimonSays Weekly Podcast featured book. Simon and Schuster. November 16, 2006. (No longer accessible at that URL.)

See also

• Allegations of Israeli apartheid

• Current events
• Books by Jimmy Carter
• Jimmy Carter
• 2006 books
• Books about Israel
• Political science books
• Books available as e-books