Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

click here for more details, find new or used items	Jimmy Carter Our price £11.99 (£17.99) New from £8.38 Used from £3.53 Pages: 264 (Hardcover) ISBN: 0739477919 Pub: Simon & Schuster Ltd Pub date: 2007-02-05 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9419

Editorial Review:

The crowning achievement of Jimmy Carter's presidency was the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, and he has continued his public and private diplomacy ever since, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of work for peace, human rights, and international development. He has been a tireless author since then as well, writing bestselling books on his childhood, his faith, and American history and politics, but in Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, he has returned to the Middle East and to the question of Israel's peace with its neighbors--in particular, how Israeli sovereignty and security can coexist permanently and peacefully with Palestinian nationhood.

It's a rare honor to ask questions of a former president, and we are grateful that President Carter was able to take the time in between his work with his wife, Rosalynn, for the Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity and his many writing projects to speak with us about his hopes for the region and his thoughts on the book.

A big thank you to President Carter for granting our request for an interview.

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Amazon.com's interview with US President Jimmy Carter

Q: What has been the importance of your own faith in your continued interest in peace in the Middle East?
A: As a Christian, I worship the Prince of Peace. One of my preeminent commitments has been to bring peace to the people who live in the Holy Land. I made my best efforts as president and still have this as a high priority.

Q: A common theme in your years of Middle East diplomacy has been that leaders on both sides have often been more open to discussion and change in private than in public. Do you think that's still the case?
A: Yes. This is why private and intense negotiations can be successful. More accurately, however, my premise has been that the general public (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) are more eager for peace than their political leaders. For instance, a recent poll done by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem showed that 58% of Israelis and 81% of the Palestinians favor a comprehensive settlement similar to the Roadmap for Peace or the Saudi proposal adopted by all 23 Arab nations and recently promoted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Tragically, there have been no substantive peace talks during the past six years.

Q: How have the war in Iraq and the increased strength of Iran (and the declarations of their leaders against Israel) changed the conditions of the Israel-Palestine question?
A: Other existing or threatened conflicts in the region greatly increase the importance of Israel's having peace agreements with its neighbors, to minimize overall Arab animosity toward both Israel and the United States and reduce the threat of a broader conflict.

Q: Your use of the term "apartheid" has been a lightning rod in the response to your book. Could you explain your choice? Were you surprised by the reaction?
A: The book is about Palestine, the occupied territories, and not about Israel. Forced segregation in the West Bank and terrible oppression of the Palestinians create a situation accurately described by the word. I made it plain in the text that this abuse is not based on racism, but on the desire of a minority of Israelis to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land. This violates the basic humanitarian premises on which the nation of Israel was founded. My surprise is that most critics of the book have ignored the facts about Palestinian persecution and its proposals for future peace and resorted to personal attacks on the author. No one could visit the occupied territories and deny that the book is accurate.

Q: You write in the book that "the peace process does not have a life of its own; it is not self-sustaining." What would you recommend that the next American president do to revive it?
A: I would not want to wait two more years. It is encouraging that President George W. Bush has announced that peace in the Holy Land will be a high priority for his administration during the next two years. On her January trip to the region, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called for early U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. She has recommended the 2002 offer of the Arab nations as a foundation for peace: full recognition of Israel based on a return to its internationally recognized borders. This offer is compatible with official U.S. Government policy, previous agreements approved by Israeli governments in 1978 and 1993, and with the International Quartet's "roadmap for peace." My book proposes that, through negotiated land swaps, this "green line" border be modified to permit a substantial number of Israelis settlers to remain in Palestine. With strong U.S. pressure, backed by the U.N., Russia, and the European Community, Israelis and Palestinians would have to come to the negotiating table.

1/18/2007

Reader Reviews:

It takes courage to speak to truth, well done president Carter (5/11 people found this helpful)

The attempts to re-write the history of palestine, to make it look like the palestinian people willingly left their homes and gave up their country is rife. In this book Ex president Carter has the courage to go to the root of many of the world's problems today. Its a fantastic read and a real eye opener. There are lots of negative reviews of this book online, by pro-Israel groups (such as ADL) trying to discredit Jimmy Carter. Read the book. Make up your own mind.

A friend of Israel (11/64 people found this helpful)

The ups and downs of the failing peace process were reflected on our daily lives as Palestinian Jerusalemites.

Jimmy Carter gives us an insight from the peace process operation rooms. He clearly states, in a talk in Berkeley University, that he is a friend of Israel. He believes that the USA should play the role of an honest porker and the only way for Israel security is Peace. Peace needs the acknowledgement of the Palestinian sufferings and their right of a viable state and the right for Israel to exist normally.

Jimmy Carter handles this controversial issue in a very clear, practical and direct approach.

Useful survey of the conflict (21/97 people found this helpful)

The 39th President of the United States has written an even-handed and objective survey of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

He claims that the USA has a vital role to play: "Strong support for peace talks must come from the United States" but, as he admits, "The United States stands almost alone in its undeviating backing of Israel." With this bias for Israel and against Palestine, the US state cannot be an honest broker, nor can its allies, like Blair and the EU.

Israel's settlements and occupation are illegal under international law, under Security Council Resolutions supported by both Israel and the USA, for example Resolution 242, which requires Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. Israel's Supreme Court acknowledges that Israel holds the West Bank `in belligerent occupation'.

The Palestinians now recognise Israel's right to exist in its 1967 borders. Carter notes, "there was a sustained commitment by Israel's government to avoid full compliance with the Oslo Agreement or with key U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338." As he notes, after making various agreements at the 1998 Wye Conference, "the Israeli cabinet voted to postpone execution of the Wye River Memorandum." Israel still rejects the Oslo Agreement's key provisions and it refuses to recognise the Palestinian National Authority.

After the Taba talks of January 2001, Carter writes, "It was later claimed that the Palestinians rejected a `generous offer' put forward by Prime Minister Barak with Israel keeping only 5 percent of the West Bank. The fact is that no such offers were ever made." The Palestinians accept the Road Map, while Israel rejects it. As Carter sums up, "In order to achieve its goals, Israel has decided to avoid any peace negotiations."

Carter told the Israeli Knesset in 1979, "The people support a settlement. Political leaders are the obstacle to peace." A consistent majority of Israelis back withdrawing from Palestinian territory; similarly a consistent majority of Palestinians back a two-state peace agreement with Israel. 62% of Israelis favour direct talks with Hamas.

Carter writes, "The overriding problem is that, for more than a quarter century, the actions of some Israeli leaders have been in direct conflict with the official policies of the United States, the international community, and their own negotiated agreements. ... Israel's continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive agreement in the Holy Land. ... Two other interrelated factors have contributed to the perpetuation of violence and regional upheaval; the condoning of illegal Israeli actions from a submissive White House and U.S. Congress during recent years, and the deference with which other international leaders permit this unofficial U.S policy in the Middle East to prevail."

The US state has abandoned the peace process. Carter concludes, "The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories. It will be a tragedy - for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world - if peace is rejected and a system of oppression, apartheid, and sustained violence is permitted to prevail."

War is the root cause (9/62 people found this helpful)

I always had a sincere admiration for President Carter. I think he is very genuine when it comes to global peace. Although I can't comment on most of his opinions (and Israel-Palestine conflict for that matter), "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" has definitely given all of a us lots of fodder to brainstorm our thoughts on this historic conflict, which pretty much drives majority of the unrest in the middle east.

It's always said that it's equally important to read the other side of the story if we are sincerely willing to achieve peace. "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" has done just that and pretty much tells us the following.

THERE IS NO ROOT CAUSE FOR WAR. WAR IS THE ROOT CAUSE.

N.Sivakumar
Author of "America Misunderstood: What a Second Bush Victory Meant to the Rest of the World."

A just voice for the Palestine case (16/92 people found this helpful)

This book can be an important step for the Middle East peace efforts because it may make people remember a recurring theme from history: No justice, no peace! This book is from a major American politican and it brings a just voice to the Palestinians' cause. I hope it is read by enough number of people, especially Americans, so that the public opinion is formed by informed individuals, not necessarily by the distorted propaganda of lobbies.

President Carter has been involved in the Middle East politics as an American politician since 70's. In his book, he takes us through his experiences and gives a good explanation about the major players in the area and the dynamics of relationships among the players. I have a couple of observations from the book:

1. The root cause of the Middle Eastern problem is Israel's unchanging and continuous efforts for land capture. Since 1940's, there have been increasing number of Palestinian refugees around the area due to illegal settlements on the Occupied Territories. This situation breeds a "freedom fighter" type of politicians in Palestine. At even harder times, it promotes more hardliners/ extremists to control the Palestinian politics and results in violence, e.g. suicide bombers. This diminishes the credibility of the Palestinian cause at the global stage. Israel gets the upper hand and continues to increase its occupation under the "security" umbrella. Then comes more illegal settlements in the areas which were occupied due to "security reasons". This creates more Palestinian refugees. Then comes extremist Palestinian politicians and violence... It is a vicious circle. The vicious circle is here to stay unless there is justice!

2. The lack of democracy in the Middle Eastern countries is an obstacle to a long lasting peace. Middle Eastern dictators do not represent their people and they can be easily influenced by major forces. An elected politician has to face the electorate because of his/ her decisions, a dictator does not. Unless Middle East countries become more democratic (multi party system and recurring, free elections are a good start!), a sustainable peace in the Middle East is hard to achieve. The current picture is not promising!

3. I found President Carter's past efforts for peace damaging for Palestinians. At every phase of efforts, Israel ended up getting compromises from her Arab neighbors but never stopped capturing land and creating refugees. The root cause always remained at the center of the problem and Israel did not get punished neither by international players nor by the USA. Like Carter, other Presidents also tried to push for peace while Israel, as the side who is 100 times stronger than the other, kept on insisting other Middle Eastern parties to compromise for a "final" peace deal. After decades of banking on the compromises, what has been offered to Arafat at Camp David by Clinton was an unacceptable but natural result. The balance of power between Palestine and Israel is so big that it is not possible for an Israeli politician to convince the Israeli public to accept a fair peace solution anymore.

4. It is hard to bring justice with a 2-state solution because Jewish settlements are distributed all over West Bank and less in Gaza. The apartheid wall erected to "protect" these settlers are preventing the Palestinians to conduct any economical activities. During the time when the peace roadmap is being discussed, Prime Minister Olmert was inviting contractors to bid for building more settlements. The situation today will not bring any type of justice or sustainable peace under 2-state solution. I think, there is more hope in one-state solution in a democratic Israel, where two peoples live side by side in peace and equally. Democracy to everyone, not only to Jews, can be a good start for a long lasting solution.

I recommend this book to everyone who is tired of hearing about this issue from Israelis and Palestinians in a biased manner. This book is from an American President, who is not biased and is very knowledgeable on the issue.

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