Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

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Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
File:Palestine peace not apartheid.jpgCover 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 New York Times Best Seller written by Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, and published by Simon and Schuster in November 2006. While President, Carter hosted talks between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin in 1978 that led to a comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, and he has occasionally commented on the Arab-Israeli conflict since leaving the Presidency. In this book Carter argues 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 table of contents of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid

List of Maps
Historical Chronology
1. Prospects for Peace
2. My First Visit to Israel, 1973
3. My Presidency, 1977-81
4. The Key Players
5. Other Neighbors
6. The Reagan Years, 1981-89
7. My Visits with Palestinians
8. The George H. W. Bush Years
9. The Oslo Agreement
10. The Palestinian Election, 1996
11. Bill Clinton's Peace Efforts
12. The George W. Bush Years
13. The Geneva Initiative
14. The Palestinian Election, 2005
15. The Palestinian and Israeli Elections, 2006
16. The Wall as a Prison
17. Summary
Appendix 1: U.N. Resolution 242, 1967
Appendix 2: U.N. Resolution 338, 1973
Appendix 3: Camp David Accords, 1978
Appendix 4: Framework for Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, 1978
Appendix 5: U.N. Resolution 465, 1980
Appendix 6: Arab Peace Proposal, 2002
Appendix 7: Israel's Response to the Roadmap, May 25, 2003
Acknowledgments
Index

Purpose, main argument, and some major points of the book

"The ultimate purpose"

The ultimate purpose of my book is 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. Another hope is that Jews and other Americans who share this same goal might be motivated to express their views, even publicly, and perhaps in concert. I would be glad to help with that effort. (Italics added.)

Thesis: How to achieve "permanent peace in the Middle East"

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 ("Summary"), 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.

"Some 'Major points'"

Recently "reiterating the keys to peace" in the Middle East as presented in his book, Carter lists what he regards as "ome major points in the book":

Multiple deaths of innocent civilians have occurred on both sides, and this violence and all terrorism must cease.

For 39 years, Israel has occupied Palestinian land, and has confiscated and colonized hundreds of choice sites.

Often excluded from their former homes, land, and places of worship, protesting Palestinians have been severely dominated and oppressed. There is forced segregation between Israeli settlers and Palestine's citizens, with a complex pass system required for Arabs to traverse Israel's multiple checkpoints.

An enormous wall snakes through populated areas of what is left of the West Bank, constructed on wide swaths of bulldozed trees and property of Arab families, obviously designed to acquire more territory and to protect the Israeli colonies already built. (Hamas declared a unilateral cease-fire in August 2004 as its candidates sought local and then national offices, which they claim is the reason for reductions in casualties to Israeli citizens.)

Combined with this wall, Israeli control of the Jordan River Valley will completely enclose Palestinians in their shrunken and divided territory. Gaza is surrounded by a similar barrier with only two openings, still controlled by Israel. The crowded citizens have no free access to the outside world by air, sea, or land.

The Palestinian people are now being deprived of the necessities of life by economic restrictions imposed on them by Israel and the United States because 42 percent voted for Hamas candidates in this year's election. Teachers, nurses, policemen, firemen, and other employees cannot be paid, and the UN has reported food supplies in Gaza equivalent to those among the poorest families in sub-Sahara Africa, with half the families surviving on one meal a day.

Mahmoud Abbas, first as prime minister and now as president of the Palestinian National Authority and leader of the PLO, has sought to negotiate with Israel for almost six years, without success. Hamas leaders support such negotiations, promising to accept the results if approved by a Palestinian referendum.

UN Resolutions, the Camp David Accords of 1978, the Oslo Agreement of 1993, official US Policy, and the International Roadmap for Peace are all based on the premise that Israel withdraw from occupied territories. Also, Palestinians must accept the same commitment made by the 23 Arab nations in 2002: to recognize Israel's right to live in peace within its legal borders. These are the two keys to peace. (Bullets added.)

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 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, 2006, Rabbi Michael Lerner 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". He 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." This saintly theme was echoed by Robert Fisk who declared the book to be "a good, strong read by the only American president approaching sainthood".

Brad Hooper, writing in Booklist, a publication of 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 Responses

Organizations

Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League mounted a campaign against the book early in November of 2006, taking out a series of full-page advertisements in newspapers nationwide headlined with the claim that "There’s only one honest thing about President Carter’s new book. The Criticism." The advertisements have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post.

Abraham Foxman, the national director of the ADL, is quoted in the Jewish Week saying

I believe he is engaging in anti-Semitism. For a man of his stature and supposed savvy to hold forth that the issues of Israel and the Middle East have not been discussed and debated because Jews and Zionists have closed off means of discussion is just anti-Semitism.

Individuals

Politicians, legislators, and former government employees

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

Howard Dean

On October 27, 2006, the Jewish Daily Forward reports that Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued a statement responding to the book, speaking both for himself and his party: "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. 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."

Nancy Pelosi

Similarly, as cited by Siegel, Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi points out that the book does not represent the Democratic Party's 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."

According to Siegel, "everal Democratic members of New York’s House delegation — Reps. Steve Israel, Charlie Rangel and Jerrold Nadler — also have issued statements criticizing Carter’s book, as did Rep. John Conyers, Jr., a Michigan Democrat who is often criticized by members of the Jewish community for his failure to support Israel in a certain instance."

Steve Israel

In his own statement, as reported by Siegel on October 17, 2006, U.S. Representative Steve Israel expresses his own point of view: "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.” Representative Israel adds that the "book clearly does not reflect the direction of the party; it reflects the opinion of one man."

John Conyers, Jr.

To his fellow Democrats' voices, in his statement reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on October 25, 2006, U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. adds: "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.” For him the title “does not serve the cause of peace and the use of it . . . is offensive and wrong.”

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).

In a videotaped clip broadcast on CNN's The Situation Room, "responding to the controversy flaring over his new best seller on the Middle East," Carter responds to Ross's criticism by stating that he has "never seen" Ross's book and that the maps "came from an atlas that's publicly available." According to CNN's correspondent Brian Todd, who comments on the video clip presented on The Situation Room on December 8, 2006, President Carter has identified the specific atlas as A Geopolitical Atlas of Palestine, published by the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem. Brian Todd explains:

We tried to contact the firm that Carter says he got those maps from, it's called the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem to see if they got those maps from Dennis Ross. We were unable to reach that company. A spokeswoman for President Carter's publisher, Simon and Schuster, says they are tracking all of these accusations, but they stand by the president's book. . . .

Zbigniew Brzezinski

In contrast, in the London Financial Times, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former NSA advisor to President Carter, condemned the "the abusive reactions directed at him . . . designed to intimidate an open public discussion."

Academics

Alan Dershowitz

Further information: Alan Dershowitz § Jimmy_Carter's_book_Palestine:_Peace_Not_Apartheid Further information: Alan Dershowitz § Alan_Dershowitz_and_Jimmy_Carter

Alan Dershowitz, a professor of law at Harvard Law School, and author of several books on the Arab-Israeli conflict — including The Case For Israel — points out that Carter's book has been condemned in reviews as "moronic" by Slate, "anti-historical" by The Washington Post, and "laughable" by the San Francisco Chronicle, and that it is "riddled with errors and bias." Dershowitz writes that "any of the reviews have been written by non-Jewish as well as Jewish critics, and not by 'representatives of Jewish organizations' as Carter has claimed."

Dershowitz argues that there are factual inaccuracies in Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, including its statement that "Israel launche preemptive attacks on Egypt, Syria, Iraq and then Jordan" (5), observing that, in the 1967 Six-Day War, "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." The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America has criticized the book for similar reasons.

Carter's and Dershowitz's responses to each other's criticisms

According to Greg Bluestein (Associated Press), Carter has replied that the 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 observes that "in the real world," the response to his book has been "overwhelmingly positive."

In an op-ed published in the New York Sun on November 22, 2006, Dershowitz points out that Carter was not sufficiently forthcoming about qualifying a parallel to South African apartheid:

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."

In early December 2006, the president of Brandeis University invited Carter to debate his book with Alan Dershowitz, but Carter declined, explaining:

I don't want to have a conversation even indirectly with Dershowitz. There is no need to for me to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine.

In his op-ed published in Boston Globe published on December 21, 2006, Dershowitz says:

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.

He adds: "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."

Further information: § Scheduled_public_programs_pertaining_to_the_book

The Boston Globe writes on December 26, 2006 that:

About 100 students, faculty and alumni of Brandeis University have signed an online petition to push the administration to bring former President Carter to campus to discuss his new book on Palestine, without being required to debate it.... Montgomery, a senior politics major, told The Boston Globe he has received about $1,000 in pledges from faculty to help sponsor the visit. They plan to invite Carter by the end of the week. "I think there's a basic lack of debate here about Israel and Palestine," Montgomery said.

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.

Responses to Stein by Carter and others

According to Greg Bluestein (Associated Press), in addition to observing that his book was fact-checked by the Carter Center staff and the unnamed "distinguished" reporter, Carter has pointed out "that Stein hadn't played a role in the Carter Center in 13 years and that his post as a fellow was an honorary title. 'When I decided to write this book, I didn't even think about involving Ken, from ancient times, to come in and help.'"

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.

In response to Professor Stein's criticisms, representatives of 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.

Other commentators in the media

Chris Hedges

Chris Hedges, in The Nation, writes:

Jimmy Carter, by publishing his book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, walked straight into the buzz saw that is the Israel lobby. Among the vitriolic attacks on the former President was the claim by Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, that Carter is "outrageous" and "bigoted" and that his book raises "the old canard and conspiracy theory of Jewish control of the media, Congress, and the U.S. government." Many Democratic Party leaders, anxious to keep the Israel lobby's money and support, have hotfooted it out the door, with incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing that Carter "does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel."

He continues:

The assault against Carter, rather, says more about the failings of the American media - which have largely let Israel hawks heap calumny on Carter's book. It exposes the indifference of the Bush Administration and the Democratic leadership to the rule of law and basic human rights, the timidity of our intellectual class and the moral bankruptcy of institutions that claim to speak for American Jews and the Jewish state.

Jeffery Goldberg

Jeffery Goldberg, in the Washington Post, writes:

Carter makes it clear in this polemical book that, in excoriating Israel for its sins -- and he blames Israel almost entirely for perpetuating the hundred-year war between Arab and Jew -- he is on a mission from God. ...

Carter, not unlike God, has long been disproportionately interested in the sins of the Chosen People. He is famously a partisan of the Palestinians, and in recent months he has offered a notably benign view of Hamas, the Islamist terrorist organization that took power in the Palestinian territories after winning a January round of parliamentary elections.

There are differences, however, between Carter's understanding of Jewish sin and God's. God, according to the Jewish Bible, tends to forgive the Jews their sins. And God, unlike Carter, does not manufacture sins to hang around the necks of Jews when no sins have actually been committed.

Tom Segev

Tom Segev, in the Israeli daily Haaretz, writes:

The book is causing an uproar among those in America who consider themselves as "friends of Israel," for one thing because of its title: "Palestine - Peace Not Apartheid." Predictably, some are accusing Carter of anti-Semitism. Carter is closely following the responses, including on the Internet, and responding to his critics. He is prepared to lecture for free about his views - but Jews don't want to hear, he complains. An Israeli reader won't find anything more in the book than is written in the newspapers here every day.

One reason the book is outraging "friends of Israel" in America is that it requires them to reformulate their friendship: If they truly want what's good for Israel, they must call on it to rid itself of the territories. People don't like to admit that they've erred; therefore, they're angry at Carter.

David A. Harris

David A. Harris, in the Israeli daily the Jerusalem Post, writes:

It ... is startling that a former president who prides himself on his ongoing contribution to world peace would write a crude polemic that compromises any pretense to objectivity and fairness. ...

Carter leaves out what any reasonable observer, even those that share his basic views of the conflict, would consider obvious facts, but does include stunning distortions.

Jimmy Carter: Additional responses of the author

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.

Citing the criticism of the title by Alan Dershowitz as "outrageous" in its suggestion of "an analogy to the hated policies of South Africa," on Larry King Live, King asks President Carter why he uses "the loaded word 'apartheid'" with reference to Israel. Carter replies:

Well, he has to go to the first word in the title, which is "Palestine," not Israel. He should go to the second word in the title, which is "peace." And then the last two words "not apartheid." 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 and the oppression of the Palestinians by Israeli forces in the occupied territories is horrendous. And it's not something that has been acknowledged or even discussed in this country. . . .

Carter has also said that debate on issues concerning Israel is 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.

"A Letter to Jewish Citizens of America"

According to the Associated Press, updating the earlier report by Greg Bluestein, "Facing continuing controversy over his new book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," on Friday, December 15, 2006, through the Carter Center, former President Jimmy Carter "issued a letter . . . to American Jews explaining his use of the term 'apartheid' and sympathizing with Israelis who fear terrorism":

. . . the former president also said that American Christians, not Jews, are responsible for an "overwhelming bias for Israel" in American media.

Carter wrote the letter following his meeting Tuesday with a group of rabbis in Phoenix, Ariz. The rabbis said they would not call for a boycott of Carter's book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, but they also would not suggest that anyone read it.

In the letter, Carter said the group's chairman, Rabbi Andrew Straus, "suggested that I make clear to all American Jews that my use of 'apartheid' does not apply to circumstances within Israel, that I acknowledge the deep concern of Israelis about the threat of terrorism and other acts of violence from some Palestinians, and that the majority of Israelis sincerely want a peaceful existence with their neighbors. The purpose of this letter is to reiterate these points."

Straus said he was "very appreciative" of the letter and believes in Carter's sincerity. However, he still disagrees with the former president's use of apartheid.

"Even though he doesn't mean it in a racial term, to use that term can be nothing less than overly-provocative," Straus said.

The rabbi also said he would like to see Carter further acknowledge Israel's efforts in achieving peace and fighting terrorism in the Middle East.

Carter's letter asserted that "apartheid in Palestine is not based on racism but the desire of a minority of Israelis for Palestinian land and the resulting suppression of protests that involve violence." He called it "contrary to the tenets of the Jewish faith and the basic principles of the nation of Israel."

The former president also said, "I have never claimed that American Jews control the news media, but reiterated that the overwhelming bias for Israel comes from among Christians like me who have been taught since childhood to honor and protect God's chosen people from among whom came our own savior, Jesus Christ."

He went on to say the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has a "powerful influence" in American politics to the extent that, "There are no significant countervailing voices."

Carter added that he knows of "the extreme acts of violence that have been perpetrated against innocent civilians," in Israel, and understands Israelis' fear of terrorism.

"I reiterated my strong condemnation of any such acts of terrorism," he said.

"Reiterating the Keys to Peace" in the Middle East

In an op-ed published about a week later, 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.

Carter concludes:

As recommended by the Hamilton-Baker report , renewed negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are a prime factor in promoting peace in the region. Although my book concentrates on the Palestinian territories, I noted that the report also recommended peace talks with Syria concerning the Golan Heights. Both recommendations have been rejected by Israel's prime minister .

It is practically impossible for bitter antagonists to arrange a time, place, agenda, and procedures that are mutually acceptable, so an outside instigator/promoter is necessary. Successful peace talks were orchestrated by the United States in 1978-79 and by Norway in 1993. If the American government is reluctant to assume such a unilateral responsibility, then an alternative is the International Quartet (United States, Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union) -- still with American leadership.

An overwhelming majority of citizens of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine want peace, with justice for all who live in the Holy Land. It will be a shame if the world community fails to help them reach this goal.

Scheduled public programs pertaining to the book

On February 22, 2007, former President Jimmy Carter will participate in a "conversation" about this book with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at the Carter Center, moderated by Conflict Resolution Program Director Matthew Hodes.

Notes

"Best Sellers: Hardcover Nonfiction," New York Times December 31, 2006, accessed December 24, 2006.
^ Excerpt: Carter's 'Palestine Peace Not Apartheid', ABC News; rpt. from excerpt featured on official website of Simon and Schuster (Chapter 17).
^ Jimmy Carter, "Speaking Frankly about Israel and Palestine," The Los Angeles Times December 8, 2006, accessed December 23, 2006. Rpt. in the London Guardian.
^ Jimmy Carter, "Reiterating the Keys to Peace," Boston Globe December 20, 2006
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)
Michael F. Brown (November 20, 2006). "Dems Rebut Carter on Israeli 'Apartheid'". The Nation. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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)
Sherri Muzher (2006-12-05). "Title is Reality for Palestinians". Jordan Times, et al. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
Michael Lerner (December 6, 2006). "Thank You, Jimmy Carter". TomPaine.com (blog). Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Sid Ryan, "You'll Get an Earful If You Oppose Israel," The Toronto Sun December 15, 2006.
Robert Fisk, "Banality and bare faced lies," The Independent December 23, 2006.
Brad Hooper, Book review of Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid, Booklist (American Library Association), posted online in ThePerfectSystem.net and excerpted on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
^ Jennifer Siegel (October 27, 2006). "Dems Repudiate Carter Book". Jewish Daily Forward. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Jennifer Siegel (October 17, 2006). "Carter Book Slaps Israel With 'Apartheid' Tag, Provides Ammo to GOP". Jewish Daily Forward. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
"U.S. Lawmaker Chides Carter on 'Apartheid'". JTA: Global News Service of the Jewish People Jewish Telegraphic Agency. October 25, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ 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).
Ask the Expert: US policy in the Middle East, Zbigniew Brzezinski, London Financial Times, December 4, 2006.
^ Alan Dershowitz, "Why Won't Carter Debate His Book?" Boston Globe December 21, 2006.
^ Alan Dershowitz, "The World According to Carter", New York Sun November 22, 2006.
"CAMERA article"
^ Greg Bluestein, for the Associated Press, "Carter Defends His Book's Criticism of Israeli Policy," online posting, Examiner.com December 8, 2006, accessed December 24, 2006; updated in Associated Press, "Carter Explains Apartheid Reference in Letter to US Jews," December 15, 2006, accessed December 24, 2006.
Jimmy Carter, "Speaking Frankly about Israel and Palestine", Los Angeles Times December 8, 2006, accessed December 24, 2006.
As qtd. by Farah Stockman and Marcella Bombardieri, "Carter Book Won't Stir Brandeis Debate: Ex-president Was to Outline View on Palestinians," Boston Globe December 15, 2006.
Associated Press (December 8, 2006). "President Carter's New Book Spurs Aide To Resign". New York Sun. Retrieved 2006-12-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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)
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)
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)
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)
^ Chris Hedges, "Get Carter," The Nation, January 8, 2007.
Jeffery Goldberg, "What would Jimmy do?," The Washington Post, December 10, 2006.
^ Tom Segev,"Memoir of a Great Friend," Haaretz, December 12, 2006.
David A. Harris,"Carter's compromised statesmanship," The Jerusalem Post, December 4, 2006.
^ Jimmy Carter, "Israel, Palestine, Peace and Apartheid," London Guardian December 12, 2006.
"Interview with Jimmy Carter," Larry King Live, CNN November 27, 2006.
"Jimmy Carter Issues Letter to Jewish Community on Palestine Peace Not Apartheid: A Letter to Jewish Citizens of America," press release, Carter Center December 15, 2006, accessed December 24, 2006.
Associated Press, "Carter Explains Apartheid Reference in Letter to US Jews," online posting, Examiner.com December 15, 2006, accessed December 24, 2006. (Updates Bluestein.)
Conversations at the Carter Center 2006-2007, accessed December 24, 2006. (Free admission, RSVP required.)

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