Jimmy Carter book stirs controversy

[Firecat]

Carter defends new Mideast book

By ERNIE SUGGS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/08/06
From the comfort of the Carter Center, former President Jimmy Carter blasted his critics Friday and defended his latest book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

"I feel completely at ease," said Carter, about his commitment to the book, which accuses Israel of oppressing Palestinians. "I am not running for office. And I have Secret Service protection."

Carter, who negotiated the 1978 Camp David Peace Accords, which led to Nobel Peace Prizes for Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin, was only half-joking. "The greatest commitment in my life has been trying to bring peace to Israel," Carter told the Atlanta Press Club. "Israel will never have peace until they agree to withdraw" from the occupied territories.

What was supposed to be a whirlwind book tour to promote his 21st book and spark "discussion and debate about what is going on in the Holy Land" has instead left Carter spending the bulk of his time defending the book, especially his choice of the provocative word "apartheid" in the title.

Published by Simon & Schuster, the book follows the Israeli-Palestinian peace process from Carter's days in the White House to the present.

Carter, 82, places most of the blame for the conflict on Israel for fostering a type of apartheid that he said is worse in some cases than what blacks saw in South Africa. He criticizes the Bush administration for failing to intervene and other American elected officials for not addressing Middle East issues for fear of being run out of office.

"It would be almost politically suicidal for members of Congress to espouse a balanced position between Israel and Palestine -- to suggest that Israel comply with international law or to speak in defense of justice or human rights for Palestinians," Carter said.

He also criticized the American media for ignoring Israel's role in the stalemate.

"I would just like the news media and the op-ed pages to publicize it," said Carter. He said several major newspapers refused to write about his book, until it became controversial.

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and author of "Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism," is demanding an apology from Carter. He said comments from the former president -- particularly implications of his comments about the media -- border on anti-Semitism.

"When you think about the charge that he has made that the Jewish people control the means of communication, it is odious," Foxman said. "If the Jews controlled the media, how come he is traveling around the country speaking about this book on talk shows?"

Carter defends the use of the word apartheid, which is closely associated with racial brutality in South Africa. He said his use of the term refers to Israeli policies on the acquisition of Palestinian land and the erection of a separating wall that has divided Palestinian areas and destroyed homes and ancient olive trees.

"Anybody that goes there can't deny that a system of apartheid is going on," Carter said. "It is not racism-based. It is a small number of Israelis who believe they have the right to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land. And to dominate, isolate and persecute any Palestinian who objects."

Joseph Parko, a volunteer with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker relief organization, said he recently spent more than two weeks in the region.

"The conditions I saw there were exactly what the president wrote about," Parko said. "Apartheid is an accurate term to describe the situation."

But Jewish groups -- including the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta -- have ripped the book and incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Carter does not speak for the Democratic Party. Foxman, who said he once bumped into Carter in Jerusalem, said Jewish reaction has gone from disappointment to anger.

"We are disappointed in a sense that one expects more fairness from a former president. One expects a lot more sophistication," Foxman said. "We are angry because there is a bias. Not only an ignorance of the issues, but a bias." But Carter, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, said at least eight Jewish groups -- devoted to promoting peace in the Middle East -- have called him to praise the book.

The staunchest critic has been Kenneth Stein, the Carter Center's first executive director and a professor at Emory University. Although not officially involved with the Carter Center for more than a decade, Stein was still listed as a Middle Eastern Fellow at the center before the book was published. He made a public break from Carter earlier this week, claiming the book was full of errors.

Carter told the Press Club that since 1996 he has monitored three elections in the region and has visited both Israel and the Palestinian territories many times.

"We know what is going on," Carter said. "That is my credentials for writing this book. It was not just superficial observance from a distance."

[mmap]

Sounds interesting, might actually read this book...

I still cannot wrap my head around, why people cannot seem to distinguish between Israelis and Jewish... They are not direct synonyms nor concepts.

[Firecat]

This was written by Carter regarding the book....

http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/f...atimes616.html

[hanasand]

Carter is a very wise man, the U.S needs someone like him to speak out in the israel/palestine conflict from a different point of view.