This book excites some extraordinary virulent comments. I suppose it is the topic and the fact that JC was president. In fact, it is quite dull. Mr. Carter's insights are somewhat shallow at times - e.g. that Hafez al-Assad was well-spoken. The facts as presented seem straight-forward to me. I have read some other books by President Carter and enjoyed them much more - especially one whose title I can't remember about his gubernatorial campaign.

من ذاكره السلام / بقلم سامر جبر

في كل هذه السنوات كنت اس��ع بهذه الكلمه التي لم اجد لها معناً حقيقياً قد يتجسد يوماً في شارع. وادركت حجم سوء الفهم بين الفاهم والمفهوم (الحاكم والمحكوم) لكلمه تختلف بحروفها وما تحمله من معاني لا اعرفها لانني لم التمسها يوماً على ارض الواقع. وبقيت مجرد تصافح ايداً لم تخرج من شاشات التلفزه وبقيت محصوره في الاعلام فقط. وكانت تغطيه الحدث هي الحدث الاكبر من هذا الحدث.

وتبدا الاحداث تتضارب هنا وهناك في تلفاز هنا وراديو هناك وكان الحل كان ضائع وقد وجدوه. نسمع عن سكة قطار بين الضفه وغزه وتسهيل الحركه التجاريه وتسهيلات للمواطنيين وتصاريح للعاملين نسمع بكل شيء ممكن في الخيال حتى اننا سمعنا عن مشاريع المنتجعات المشتركه. هذا ما يقدموه لنا في المساء وعند النوم يبدا الكل برسم الاحلام كما يشاء الى ان الاحلام لا تدوم طويلاً. ونستيقظ في الصباح على صوت جرافات قد بدات بقلع الاشجار من البساتين الخضراء. ربما ليصنعوا لنا مطاراً في هذه البلاد فما اكثر مثل هذه المطارات في بلادنا او ربما كانت تشكل عثره في طريق (السلام) فعلى ما يبدو انها هي المشكله التي وجدوها في لقائات امس وقد بداوا بحلها. ويتحدثون عن انفاق العيش التي باتت تربط اناس بالحياه وقد اخترقت جدار الظلم الاسود وما زالوا يحفرون انفاقهم لاغراضهم الشيطانيه ونبش تاريخ الحضاره تحت صخرهً مثلت اسمى حدتً في تاريخ البشريه.

هنا يهدمون منزلاً لمواطن ومستوطنات قد اشرف بنائها على الانتهاء ومستوطنون يغلقون الطرق ويعوثون خراباً في الفناء. وتتراكم الاحداث الى ان تبدا الجماهير تتجمع وتعلن رفضها لهذه المشاريع برشق الجرافات بالحجاره ليبدا صوت صفارات سيارات الاسعاف بعد دوي صوت تلك الطلقات المزعجه وعمال هناك هاربون في الاحراش واراضي اخذوها وجدار يلتف ويلتهم غيرها ومعابر وضعوها بين مدننا ويغلقونها امامنا في اعيادهم ومناسباتهم وعطلهم الاسبوعيه ومزاجاتهم واسباب لا اعرفها وما زالوا يرسلون لنا مبعوثيهم ورجالهم ويواصلون سياساتهم معنا. وفي كل لقاء يطرحون المزيد من خوارط الطرق التي لا نعرفها وان عرفناها فلن نعرف الى اين سنصل. وتتراكم الاحداث بمزيدها وتتواصل دون توقف وان وقفت فلا تتجاوز الشهور. وهناك في الداخل ايضاً ما زالت تسن قوانين التطرف العنصري ضد الاقليات المسالمه.

الى ان يعود الاعلام بضجته الصاخبه في المدينه المقدسه وبحكم رضوخها تحت الاحتلال بكل مسميات الانسانيه والحضاره ومن وقع الحدث في محطة باص عام بالنقل الحي والمباشر على جميع شاشات التلفزه العربيه والغربيه ومنها الجديده والمعربنه وكثيراً ايضاً لا نعرفها. ويسارع الجميع بالاستنكار والادانه من حكومات واحزاب وشخصيات لا نعرفها.

وتبدا مبادرات السلم الضعيفه الى ان تطغى عليها مبادرات الحرب وهي الاقوى ويعلنون سحب وعوداتهم التي لم تطبق في الاصل ويواصلون التهديد بالتلويح باعادة الاستيطان مع انه لم يتوقف يوماً الى ان تحول الامور دون جدوى وقرارات تاتي كاردة فعل عفويه الى مجلس الامن وبنعقاد المجلس يبدا الضعفاء بالثرثره للمساعده الى ان اصواتهم تزعج ذلك القوي الاخرس لينطق ويقول ............... VITO
www.samerjaber.blogspot.com

The ideas Carter lays out aren't anything one can't find in any other book on the Israel-Palestine issue. Although written in 2006, his views are very much based in the 1970s when he was President. He frequently brings up the Camp David Accords he brokered as a model for a path forward as if nothing has changed on the ground between 1979 and 2006.

Often throughout the book, Carter weaves Biblical stories and a Christian perspectives into the discussion when it is not relevant. The book does include a cursory overview of the issue, so if you're looking for a overview of how this whole mess got started, it can't hurt to read chapters.

Thoughtful book - though it is incredibly difficult to explain the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in one book, Carter tries to use his visits and meeting to outline the major issues, summarize the most important accords and provide insight to the actual feeling of the people involved. After reading this book I believe Jimmy Carter has certainly solidified himself as a wise national leader and great story teller.

I started reading this book shortly before the passing of Jimmy Carter and it is tragic that a book almost 20 years old is still so relevant and accurate to the atrocities happening in Palestine. So many people in the west shout endlessly about this subject and don't listen to the actual people affected directly or even people knowledgeable on the situation/history. Carter during and long after his presidency was active and involved in negotiations for peace. He was not a perfect person and but he has done more than any subsequent president has ever done to acknowledge Israel's treatment of Palestinians and spread awareness.

The last two chapters specifically are about the wall built by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory that prevents freedom of movement of Palestinians and the United States "current" (aka 2006) actions that prevented UN resolutions/actions critical of Israel and allowed pro Israel sentiments to take root in the US that directly opposed Europe's harsh criticism of Israel.

A good quick overview of history of the situation ~4 hours of listening, read by Carter himself. Posting a review mainly to counteract the one star ratings from petty Zionists :P

2.5 stars

This is a pretty decent compendium on the Israel/Palestine Conflict. I agreed with the author's premise prior to the read, which in turn lead to his analysis to be pretty traditional and normal in my view. I rounded up to 3 because I honestly did enjoy a good portion of this book. To say writing isn't Jimmy Carter's best Milieu would be a gross understatement. I really felt like this was chore to read. For someone wanting to understand the Israel/Palestine conflict as it pertains to the situation today, I recommend Max Blumenthal's Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel.

The first political book I ever read. I learned a little more about the region and the charts that were included were really helpful. I read a lot of negative reviews for this book, but decided to read it anyway. Most reviewers, I have noticed, generally give a negative review on something (books, movies, music, etc.) and people that actually read, watch or listen, find them enjoyable. I have stopped listening to reviews and instead decided to gain my own perspective of the material. I am glad that this book was one that I decided to gain my own opinion of. It was a good read.

Carter's prose isn't very engaging, but this is otherwise a very interesting read. Even just as a brief historical account of the conflict, the book is worth reading as it emphasizes issues often underplayed in western media.

Oh...I hate Israel so much...you guys want to know why the Middle East abhors America to this present extent?

It's because we constantly aid and abet this fascist country which persecutes Muslims and steals their land while shrugging off international laws. And we actually think that bombing those countries is going to make any of that any better? No, you can never squelch the spirit of an oppressed people...and I have history as my witness.

Long live Palestine.

As might have been expected, Israeli and Jewish leaders were apoplectic at Carter for daring to criticize Israel. David Ross, who worked with Carter, had published an Op Ed in the NY Times excoriating Carter for a factual error he had made in identifying a map in the book. Fourteen members of the board of Carter’s foundation resigned in protest. So what is all the fuss about?


Jimmy Carter - image from USA TODAY

Carter has a fluid, if dry writing style. One reads him for information and analysis, not for literary inspiration. It is difficult to imagine the guy cracking a joke. There will be no whoopee cushions appearing unexpectedly under Roslynn at the dinner table. But Carter is arguably America’s greatest living statesman, a serious, religious fellow who puts his beliefs into practice by attempting to resolve international conflicts. He is a force for good in the world, and stands out when compared with the post White House activities many of the other ex-presidents. Nixon engaged almost exclusively in self-serving memoir writing. Reagan looked for the big payday giving million-dollar-a-pop speeches in Japan. 41 did some fishing and played a little golf before he teamed up with Bubba to do some concrete good. Ford dropped out of sight. I imagine 43 has maintained a low profile, spending his time clearing brush and enjoying holidays with his Saudi friends. Obama has been quiet, but has an activist organization working on important public issues and has been working on a project to help fix our gerrymandered congressional districting. Carter is the ex who has been the most engaged in the world on a global scale. He may be the only American who might have been ever been deemed a candidate for UN Secretary General. While one may agree or disagree with him on the particulars of specific international conflicts, only a maniac would contend that he is not a force for sanity in the world.

Carter offers specific information on what was agreed to when, what was said, what was understood re the various dealings between Israel, the Palestinians, and the national enemies at Israel’s borders. It is clear from his reportage that Israel does not live up to the innocent victim image it is so fond of presenting to the world. There is a common view that the Palestinians could have had over 90% of what they wanted in their negotiations with Israel if only Arafat had not been such a hard-ass. Carter offers a very detailed explanation for why that view is seriously at odds with reality. He concludes that what Israel has created, in the occupied territories, is a form of apartheid, in which the Palestinians play the role of South Africa’s blacks. It is a compelling case, particularly when Carter points out the actual significance of Israeli roads that not only divide the West Bank, but which engender cushion-space around them that Palestinians may not enter, when he points out that the pattern of Israeli construction is having the effect of chopping the West Bank up into islands of separate space, incapable of being joined into a single political entity, when he points out all the rights the Palestinians, in their own land, are denied. I’d be blowing things up too.

This view fits with what I have learned from other sources, both in books and from the journalists with whom I worked briefly a few years back. They told first hand accounts of Israeli soldiers who would taunt the local Palestinian youth and then when these people responded with tossed stones, the Israelis would slaughter them with automatic weapons. It was clear to me then that the perennial victims had taken on the attributes of their tormenters. If anything I believe Carter understates the case for the demise of moral authority in Israel. As in the USA, Israel is a nation that has come under the sway of extreme elements. Not all, or even certainly a majority of Israelis hold with the view of the extremists that all the land of the West Bank is really a part of Israel, but as long as extreme elements hold political power, and as long as they insist, despite UN condemnation and international law, on building more settlements in occupied territory, the problems there will only worsen. And it is clear that Israelis in power have every intention of absorbing large swaths of the West Bank into Israel-proper, in fact if not in law. It is no wonder that a disgusted populace rallied behind a murderous Hamas.

Jimmy Carter may not be the most dynamic writer, but he is very effective at presenting the information he has, and in offering his very informed take. If you are at all interested in Middle-East politics, Palestine: Peace not Apartheid is a must-read.

=============================EXTRA STUFF

July 31, 2018 - NY Times - the article points out the continuation of troubling extremist leadership in Israel. They’re ‘Blood Brothers’ With Israel’s Jews. But Druse Call New Law a Betrayal. It is eminently clear that the problems Jimmy Carter wrote about in 2006, are as relevant and dark today as they were then.

September 20, 2018 - NY Times - How Israel Undermined Washington and Stalled the Dream of Palestinian Statehood - by Seth Anziska

President Carter writes from a fairly objective perspective about Palestine in this book. It’s easily digestible—I’m sure there is a ton of history missing—and is in accordance to his own learning and understanding of Palestine (as opposed to a general history) situated in an American lens. President Carter’s critiques of Israel remain much too relevant, as is his assessment of the suffering of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. He uses words like “occupation,” “settlers,” “colonizing” to describe the Israeli state, proving that what is happening in Palestine now is not new nor does it have to do with the greater history of people in the region—no, President Carter makes it apparent (with maps, citations, direct quotations) that Israel has not complied with international law and has not accepted its borders. Israel is taking land and destroying Palestinian humanity ceaselessly—their West Bank wall (ring a bell?) in particular is separating Palestinians from each other, preventing their access of resources, and establishing what President Carter describes as an apartheid, the forcible separation of Palestinians from Israelis.

A quote I found entirely relevant is the following, from Dr. Hanan Ashrawi concerning Israel’s claims that attempts at peace have failed because of Palestinian terrorism:

“So far, they have succeeded in holding the peace process hostage to this mentality on the one hand. And on the other hand they have provoked tremendous violence by acts of incitement like shelling, bombing, house demolition, uprooting trees, destroying crops, assassinating political leaders, placing all Palestinians under closure in a state of total immobility—a prison. And then they wonder why some Palestinians are acting violently! And then they want to have the right to exercise violence against the captive population. Then they like to make non-violence on the part of Palestinians a precondition for the Palestinians to quality for talks, let alone for statehood.”

“Interesting to understand Carter's point of view. Written in a childish, Sunday school style. Biggest failing is the blindness to official, state anti-Semitism in the Arab world and the consequent wild, irrational hatred of Jews, not just Israelis by the Arab public. To listen to Carter one would think that the governments of Egypt and Syria have some legal disputes with Israel that being reasonable people they could be resolved by negotiations if the Israelis would only be reasonable too.

That these same people promote Holocaust denial and Nazi stereotypes of the world Jewish conspiracy to their own people is not mentioned by Carter. In fact, anti-Semitism is not an entry in the Index for the book.

The Arab governments have convinced their people that the Jews run the world behind the scenes, especially the US and Russia. To them, the Holocaust never happened and 9/11 was a US/Israeli plot to make Arabs look bad. This creates a conflict between Islam and the West far beyond any Israeli-Palestinian dispute. It also at least calls into question Arab sincerity in seeking a settlement with Israel as well as explains some measure of Israeli distrust.

I'm not saying that there are no answers or that peace isn't possible. What I do say is that someone like Carter who is blind to all of this doesn't have any of those answers and is not someone worth listening to about the issues. As he is an ex-President, his views have some historical importance. However when you read them you can see why no President since Carter has taken him seriously. Obama has barely mentioned him and has no role for him in dealing with the Middle East, which speaks well of the new President.