Product Description

Following his #1 New York Times bestseller, Our Endangered Values, the former president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, offers an assessment of what must be done to bring permanent peace to Israel with dignity and justice to Palestine.

President Carter, who was able to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt, has remained deeply involved in Middle East affairs since leaving the White House. He has stayed in touch with the major players from all sides in the conflict and has made numerous trips to the Holy Land, most recently as an observer in the Palestinian elections of 2005 and 2006.

In this book President Carter shares his intimate knowledge of the history of the Middle East and his personal experiences with the principal actors, and he addresses sensitive political issues many American officials avoid. Pulling no punches, Carter prescribes steps that must be taken for the two states to share the Holy Land without a system of apartheid or the constant fear of terrorism.

The general parameters of a long-term, two-state agreement are well known, the president writes. There will be no substantive and permanent peace for any peoples in this troubled region as long as Israel is violating key U.N. resolutions, official American policy, and the international "road map" for peace by occupying Arab lands and oppressing the Palestinians. Except for mutually agreeable negotiated modifications, Israel's official pre-1967 borders must be honored. As were all previous administrations since the founding of Israel, U.S. government leaders must be in the forefront of achieving this long-delayed goal of a just agreement that both sides can honor.

Palestine Peace Not Apartheid is a challenging, provocative, and courageous book.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51600 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-14
• Released on: 2006-11-14
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 264 pages

Amazon.com
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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An Interview with 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

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From Publishers Weekly
The term "good-faith" is almost inappropriate when applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a bloody struggle interrupted every so often by negotiations that turn out to be anything but honest. Nonetheless, thirty years after his first trip to the Mideast, former President Jimmy Carter still has hope for a peaceful, comprehensive solution to the region's troubles, delivering this informed and readable chronicle as an offering to the cause. An engineer of the 1978 Camp David Accords and 2002 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Carter would seem to be a perfect emissary in the Middle East, an impartial and uniting diplomatic force in a fractured land. Not entirely so. Throughout his work, Carter assigns ultimate blame to Israel, arguing that the country's leadership has routinely undermined the peace process through its obstinate, aggressive and illegal occupation of territories seized in 1967. He's decidedly less critical of Arab leaders, accepting their concern for the Palestinian cause at face value, and including their anti-Israel rhetoric as a matter of course, without much in the way of counter-argument. Carter's book provides a fine overview for those unfamiliar with the history of the conflict and lays out an internationally accepted blueprint for peace.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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From Publishers Weekly
It's hard to use standard criteria to assess this book. Former President Carter is not a very good reader; his tone is flat, and his pronunciation sometimes difficult. Nor is he a literary stylist; there is neither music nor imagery in his down-to-earth sentences. But Carter feels strongly that what he has to say is absent from public discourse and policy decisions, and he knows that his status and voice provide authority to what might otherwise be rejected out of hand as anti-Israeli propaganda. He explains that Israel has never complied with U.N. Resolution 242 and others; has never lived up to its agreements made over the years in Washington, Oslo and elsewhere; continues to grab land through settlements and placement of a wall well within Palestinian territory; and still imprisons thousands of Palestinian men, women and children. While pointing out many murderous and counterproductive moves of Arafat and various Palestinian groups, he pointedly lays the blame for the current situation at the door of the Israelis and their Washington backers, with special venom for Bush and Rice, who have been mute on the subject for six years—even during the invasion of Lebanon. Many will dispute his facts and counter his views, but Carter maintains that if we really want to understand and promote change in this region, we must know both sides of the story.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School—This is not intended to be a scholarly work but rather a frank assessment of the current state of affairs in the Middle East by an experienced elder statesman. Maintaining that "there is a formula for peace with justice in this…portion of the world," ex-President Carter proceeds to argue his point with clarity and urgency. His perspective derives from his term as president, his successful brokering of peace between Egypt and Israel via the 1978 Camp David Accords, and his continued involvement with the Israeli/Palestinian issue in the 30 ensuing years. He includes necessary historical context, traces the role of the U.S. in each succeeding administration since he left office, and mentions vital roles played by Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Carter points to the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty as proof that "ancient enemies" can coexist and sees hope in the statistical majorities of both Israelis and Palestinians who desire a resolution to conflict, despite the words and actions of some of their political leaders—whom he labels the "obstacles to peace." Whether one is steeped in knowledge of the Middle East or new to the subject, this book is essential reading, for it stimulates precisely the kind of dialogue that Carter believes is necessary to prod all affected peoples beyond present roadblocks to a just and lasting peace.—Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Customer Reviews

Carter laments
This book should probably be named Carter's lamentations because his chapters are intertwined with complaining about the failures that have lingered after the Camp David Accords. There are some things that this book is and isn't. It isn't a history book or rather it is history light. It is a quick read and moves lightly through Levantine history. It is Carter's perspective on the Israeli/Palestinian issues and the direction they are heading. He skims the surface of many issues and doesn't go very deep in his analysis. This is so he can hurriedly move forward to his proposed solution to bring peace to this troubled land. He wants to put back in force UN resolution 242 (boundary issues and land swap) and UN resolution 338 (cease fire and implement Resolution 242). In his book, Carter lays the lion share of this burden on Israel and not the Arab community. This is the premise of his book and also its' weakness. Israel can certainly do more productive things to help peace along but they cannot do it alone or unilaterally. As long as the Arab world allows terrorism to exist provocations will lead to response. There seems to be a certain dread that stands as the premise for Israel's statecraft and their very existence. They cannot stand around and do nothing while the international community dithers away opportunities and then seems to be inexhaustibly understanding of terrorist violence. Yes there have been lost opportunities and human rights failures on all sides, including the U.S., but in the peace process terrorism needs containment and then true peace can have a chance. This is the direction that I felt Carter should be going. Trading land for peace won't work unless there is a reciprocal removal of terrorist activity. Golda Meir's response to Richard Nixon seems to sum up Israel's current position when she said, "Jews are used to collective eulogies, but Israel will not die so that the world will speak well of it".
Carter is not anti-Semitic and does have a legitimate right to state his case and propose a solution. He is the only President to do anything really constructive in the direction of peace in this troubled area. This book, problems and all, is still worth the short time to read even if it's only to get Carter's persective. 3.5 stars.

Well written, informative, and blunt
I just finished reading it and thought that it was great. Mr. Carter does a great job of relaying his personal thoughts on the issue, from the perspective of a man who is arguably the most knowledgeable American on the subject. My only wish is that it would contain some context outside of his own observations, like reports in the news that could correlate with his insights.

As someone who has not (yet) been to the Middle East, I can't imagine a better and more informative way to learn more.

I wrote extensively on the subject here, including some favorite quotes:
[...]

Good Ideas, BUT They Could've Been Published in an Article
Former President Jimmy Carter did a lot to advance Middle East peace, and he relies extensively upon personal meetings he had with Israeli and Arab leaders. I liked that "behind the scenes" aspect of the book.

However, the book is very repetitive and at times rambling. The book, 247 pages, could've been half that.

That criticism aside, I believe President Carter adds a useful voice to the Arab-Israeli peace process and the internal development of American policy toward the relevant players.

Drawing on his extensive dealings with the Arab and Israeli leaders over the course of four decades, President Carter surveys the development of the peace process during his presidency and then during those after.

From my perspective, the book was not particularly controversial - certainly no worse than what some "revisionist/reform" Israeli historians have written about their nation's relationship with Arabs.

I believe the book could've been condensed into an article, but it nevertheless adds to the discussion by providing a framework for a just, sustainable peace in the region (I don't support or oppose his framework necessarily, but it's good that he proferred an idea - something others should do instead of attacking his motives or charging him with anti-semitism). He believes UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 should guide future peace negotiations, and he believes that any "land-grabs" by the Israelis should be offset by Arab-annexations of now-Israeli land. Moreover, President Carter believes that a limited right to return should be granted to the displaced Palestinians with the rest being given just compensation.

The ideas aren't as radical as some in the media portrayed. The time has come for a discussion about America's role in the peace process and its foreign relations regarding Israel and the Arabs. Whether you agree or agree with President Carter, he adds to the discussion - a benefit.

And on a side note, the font is huge - as is the line spacing, so the book is a FAST read.

All said, do not buy this book for full price. Buy it hugely discounted (I got it for $1.00) or, dare I say this on Amazon.com, pick it up from your local library.