Political Works

"[The] book's title more than its content [caused an] uproar [even prior to publication, because it]...seemed to suggest that the avatar of democracy in the Middle East may be on its way to creating a political order that resembles South Africa's apartheid model of discrimination and repression, albeit on ethnic-religious rather than racial grounds [and provoked such controversy due to] the ignorance of the American political establishment, both Democrat and Republican, on the subject of the Israel-Palestine conflict.... Carter's harsh condemnation of Israeli policies in the occupied territories is not the consequence of ideology or of an anti-Israel bias.... Accusations by Alan Dershowitz and others that Carter is indifferent to Israel's security only prove that no good deed goes unpunished.--Henry Siegman"

"Carter's apartheid charge rings true.... Israel maintains two sets of rules and regulations in the West Bank: one for Jews, one for non-Jews. The only thing wrong with using the word 'apartheid' to describe such a repugnant system is that the South African version of institutionalized discrimination was never as elaborate as its Israeli counterpart--nor did it have such a vocal chorus of defenders among otherwise liberal Americans.--Saree Makdisi"

"...[A]busive reactions directed at [President Carter], including some newspaper ads[,]...[are] objectionable and designed to intimidate an open public discussion.--Zbigniew Brzezinski"

"President Carter, in my judgement [sic], is correct in fearing that the absence of a fair and mutually acceptable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is likely to produce a situation which de facto will resemble apartheid: i.e., two communities living side by side but repressively separated, with one enjoying prosperity and seizing the lands of the other, and the other living in poverty and deprivation. That is an outcome which must be avoided and I interpret his book as a strong plea for accommodation, which needs to be actively promoted by morally responsible engagement especially by America.--Zbigniew Brzezinski"

"[There is] an apartheid regime [in the Palestinian territories] worse than the one that existed in South Africa."--John Dugard"

"[I]gniting controversy for its allegation that Israel practices a form of apartheid, [Carter's book is supported by my own view that]...Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories has many features of colonization...and at the same time...many of the worst characteristics of apartheid.--John Dugard"

"I have read his book, and I could not help but agree — however agonizingly so — with most if its contents. Where I disagreed was mostly with the choice of language, including his choice of the word “apartheid.” But if we are to be fair, and as any reading of the book makes clear, Carter’s use of the word “apartheid” is first and foremost metaphorical.... What Carter says in his book about the Israeli occupation and our treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories — and perhaps no less important, how he says it — is entirely harmonious with the kind of criticism that Israelis themselves voice about their own country. There is nothing in the criticism that Carter has for Israel that has not been said by Israelis themselves.--Yossi Beilin"

"For anti-war and other progressive activists, Carter’s book is not important for its liberal imperialist politics, but because it has caused so many more people to think about the issue. It presents the movement with new opportunities to reach out to millions with a clear analysis of Palestinian people’s long resistance to occupation and imperialism.--Richard Becker"

"...when I proposed this title, by the way the title doesn’t have any punctuation in it. We intended it to be Palestinian Peace Not Apartheid [sic], but erroneously people have put a colon there. But anyhow, I can see then and now that it could precipitate some hard feelings or some obstacles that might prevent the negotiation of a peace agreement and equity or fairness of treatment for the Palestinians. And the Palestinians are horribly treated, and their treatment is not known at all or minimally in this country. So I chose that title knowing that it would be provocative. But I think in the long run, it has precipitated at least discussion. There has been a lot of positive discussion, and I believe that it has brought the issue of a lack of progress on peace for Israel and a lack of progress on the end of Palestinian suffering to the forefront of the American consciousness much more than it was had the book not been written. I am deeply concerned about the tensions that might have arisen. That was not my intention at all. And I’ve been hurt and so has my family by some of the reaction. I’ve been through political campaigns for state senate and for governor and for president, and I’ve been stigmatized and condemned by my political opponents and their stories. But this is the first time that I’ve ever been called a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist. This has hurt me. I can take it. But I think that that group of people who have made those statements—sometimes in full-page ads in the New York Times—I think they are an extreme minority. I’m not complaining. I’m willing to face the accusations. I think that, for instance, this weekend I was with Justice Steven Breyer [sic], who spent a weekend with me, my wife, and others. I was with Stu Eizenstadt, one of the directors of Brandeis. I was with Rick Hertzberg, who was my speechwriter in the White House, and others. I don’t think that any of them would agree with any of those personal epithets, and the fact that the debate has deteriorated into add hominem attacks on my character, I think has probably been a greater obstacle to progress than the fact that I chose a particular word in the title. --Jimmy Carter, Brandeis University, January 23, 2007"

"Jimmy Carter: 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.--"An Interview with President Jimmy Carter""

"Amazon.com: 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?"

"We have gotten thousands of letters from people either praising 'Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid' or denouncing some aspects of it....The Carter Center has no official position on the book itself, which President Carter said during his book tour was a personal project and not that of The Carter Center....--Deanna Congileo (Carter's spokeswoman, speaking on behalf of both President Carter and the Carter Center)"

"Book reviews in the mainstream media have been written mostly by representatives of Jewish organizations 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. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for instance, issued a statement (before the book was published) saying that "he does not speak for the Democratic Party on Israel." Some reviews posted on Amazon.com call me "anti-Semitic," and others accuse the book of "lies" and "distortions." A former Carter Center 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. I've signed books in five stores, with more than 1,000 buyers at each site. I've had one negative remark — that I should be tried for treason — and one caller on C-SPAN said that I was an anti-Semite. My most troubling experience has been the rejection of my offers to speak, for free, about the book on university campuses with high Jewish enrollment and to answer questions from students and professors. I have been most encouraged by prominent Jewish citizens and members of Congress who have thanked me privately for presenting the facts and some new ideas.--Jimmy Carter"

"When a former president of the United States [Carter] writes a book on the Israeli-Palestian crisis and writes a chronology at the beginning of the book in order to help them understand the emergence of the situation and in that chronology lists nothing of importance between 1939 and 1947, that is soft-core denial [of the Holocaust].--Deborah Lipstadt"

"Carter has repeatedly fallen back -- possibly unconsciously -- on traditional anti-Semitic canards.... Perhaps unused to being criticized, Carter reflexively fell back on this kind of innuendo about Jewish control of the media and government. Even if unconscious, such stereotyping from a man of his stature is noteworthy. When David Duke spouts it, I yawn. When Jimmy Carter does, I shudder.... Others can enumerate the many factual errors in this book. A man who has done much good and who wants to bring peace has not only failed to move the process forward but has given refuge to scoundrels.--Deborah Lipstadt"

"If you want The Carter Center to survive and thrive independently in the future, you must take prompt and decisive steps to separate the Center from President Carter's now irrevocably tarnished legacy. You must make it clear on your web site and in appropriately circulated press releases that President Carter does not speak for The Carter Center on the subject of the Middle East conflict or the political role of the American Jewish community. If you do not do this, then President Carter's damage to his own effectiveness as a mediator, not to mention to his reputation and legacy will extend, far more tragically in my view, to The Carter Center and all its activities.--Melvin Konner"

"[Carter] distorts the truth...is too rigid and inflexible...[,]no longer capable of dialogue...[and is] an apologist for terrorists....--Melvin Konner"

"[I]f Carter is so innocent as to be unaware of the resonance that term [apartheid] has, [then] he is not the expert on the Middle East or world affairs he purports to be.... Sadly, Israelis and Palestinians do not enjoy the kind of harmony the Israeli Declaration of Independence envisioned. Carter and his comrades use "Apartheid" as shorthand to condemn some of the security measures improvised recently.... Israel built a security fence to protect its citizens and separate Palestinian enclaves from Israeli cities. Ironically, that barrier marks Israel’s most dramatic recognition of Palestinian aspirations to independence since Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993.... Applying the Apartheid label tries to ostracize Israel by misrepresenting some of the difficult decisions Israel has felt forced to make in fighting Palestinian terror.--Gil Troy"

"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.--Kenneth W. Stein"

"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.--Kenneth W. Stein"

"[Carter's] 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."--Alan Dershowitz"

"[Carter's claim that "Israel launche[d] preemptive attacks on Egypt, Syria, Iraq and then Jordan" (5)]...[is inaccurate]; [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.--Alan Dershowitz"

"Many 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.--Alan Dershowitz"

"[The book is] riddled with errors and bias.--Alan Dershowitz"

"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.--Dennis Ross"

"[T]his [Israel's response to the American proposals at Camp David during the 2000 Summit]: is a matter of record. This is not a matter of interpretation.--Dennis Ross"

"[Carter's interpretation of the maps in Palestine Peace Not Apartheid is] just simply wrong.--Dennis Ross"

"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.--Dennis Ross"

"President Carter has only himself to blame. He wrote a book that, from its title to its contents, is blatantly one-sided and unbecoming of a former President, especially one who brokered peace between Egypt and Israel.--Rabbi Marvin Hier"

"Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says his organization has received over 20,000 letters of complaint, so far, against President Carter.--National Public Radio"

"The book contains numerous distortions of history and interpretation and apparently, outright fabrications as well. Its use of the term 'apartheid' to describe conditions in the West Bank serves only to demonize and de-legitimize Israel in the eyes of the world.--Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)"

"You have clearly abandoned your historic role of broker in favor of becoming an advocate for one side.--Fourteen members of the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center in their letter of resignation"

"[Two examples of] such mendacity [are that]...Carter discounts well-established claims that Israel accepted and Arafat rejected a generous offer to create a Palestinian state....[and that] Carter states that Israel plans to build a security fence "along the Jordan River, which is now planned as the eastern leg of the encirclement of the Palestinians"...[but informed observers know that] Israel has modified the projected route of the security fence on numerous occasions (the current route roughly tracks the parameters that Clinton advanced to the parties in negotiations) and that there is no plan to hem the Palestinians in on the eastern border.... [In omitting] these well-known developments...[Carter is] leaving readers to think that a route that was once contemplated in proposed maps but never adopted or acted upon represents current reality.--David Haris"

"[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.--David A. Harris"

"Not only did Carter ignore the authoritative source on what transpired at the Camp David negotiations [The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2004), by Dennis Ross], he apparently also didn't bother to consult news reports from the era. On Dec. 28, 2000, the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune and others all reported on the Israeli cabinet's acceptance [of] Clinton's parameters as a basis for discussion.--Gilead Ini"

"Almost every page of Carter's book contains errors, distortions or glaring omissions....--Lee Green"

"Your efforts in [your] letter [to Jewish Citizens of America] to minimize the impact of your charge that American Jews control US Middle East policy are simply unconvincing. In both your book and in your many television and print interviews you have been feeding into conspiracy theories about excessive Jewish power and control. Considering the history of anti-Semitism, even in our great country, this is very dangerous stuff.--Glen S. Lewy and Abraham H. Foxman"

"If we’re so powerful, why is he traveling across the country, appearing on every television show in the world?--Abraham H. Foxman"

"I believe he [Carter] 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.--Abraham H. Foxman"

"One should never judge a book by its cover, but in the case of former President Jimmy Carter’s latest work, 'Palestine Peace Not Apartheid', we should make an exception. All one really needs to know about this biased account is found in the title.--Abraham H. Foxman"

"There’s only one honest thing about President Carter’s new book. The criticism.--Anti-Defamation League (ADL)"

"[The title of Palestine Peace Not Apartheid] does not serve the cause of peace[,] and the use of it...is offensive and wrong.--Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan)"

"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.--Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan)"

"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.--Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California)"

"Well, anti-Semite is a range of things. You go from, say, Nazi is a ten. Country club discreet anti-Semite's at one. I'd put Carter at three.--Monroe Freedman former exec. dir. of Holocaust Memorial Council"

"[A]nother subtler issue...has to do with Carter’s religious focus...[leading to his] tone deafness about Israel and Jews.... Carter never tells us how he squares his notions of God’s punishment of secular Jews with the policies of such devout politicians.--Ethan Bronner"

"President Carter has done what few American politicians have dared to do: speak frankly about the Israel-Palestine conflict. He has done this nation, and the cause of peace, an enormous service by focusing attention on what he calls "the abominable oppression and persecution in the occupied Palestinian territories, with a rigid system of required passes and strict segregation between Palestine's citizens and Jewish settlers in the West Bank."--Ali Abunimah"

"The most successful Arab-Israeli peace negotiator to date, [Carter] braved a storm of criticism, including the insinuation from the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League that his arguments are anti-Semitic.--Ali Abunimah"

"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.--Sid Ryan"

"[Carter is] 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.... 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.... 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.--Rabbi Michael Lerner"