Palestine Peace Not Apartheid

 

Disclaimer: I strongly support Jimmy Carter's efforts, and contribute to the work of The Carter Center. I also urge readers to make similar efforts.

This is a must read book, given the disastrous state of affairs in the Middle East. Former President Jimmy Carter is intimately knowledgeable of the people and places described in this, his latest book. Carter's opinion should be taken into account when formulating Middle East policies, especially United States policy concerning Israel and Palestine. Unfortunately, recent U.S. Administrations have not employed Carter's services, with ill effects.

Jimmy Carter has included the relevant maps, agreements and documents in this valuable resource book. If you don't know exactly what was agreed in the Camp David Accords, or the provisions of the famous U.N. Resolution 242, they are found in appendices of this book. Parties to the Israeli-Palestinian turmoil recite a litany of agreements and detailed provisions over and over, ad nauseum. Jimmy Carter does us an invaluable service by making this literature easily available, so we no longer need to hear those words in the way of magical incantations. Jimmy Carter brings us down to Earth, to the world of living people and actual pieces of paper, by avoiding references to the will of the gods or their earthly agents. This, in itself, is a useful first step in trying to cut the Gordian knot in which the Middle East is entangled.

Jimmy Carter relates his personal experiences in Israel and Palestine. While he tells us something about his touristing, the travelogue is tied to his role in Arab-Israeli politics. He tells the essential story of each attempt to secure peace between the Palestinians and Israelis during the last 30 years or so. He tells us how these attempts unraveled or came to nothing. What becomes clear in the telling is that the American presence is often an important factor in making things better or worse. American non-involvement or taking sides - the policies of the last 6 years - usually makes things worse. It is clear that the United States does not control events in the Middle East. For this reason, the best American policy is to remain engaged as an honest broker.

Jimmy Carter is often denounced these days by Members of Congress and the Bandit  Administration, regardless of political party. He is portrayed by his critics as an advocate for Palestinians, and even as an anti-Semite. Carter's sins are on display in this book, as he points out many Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. He shows how the Israelis are depriving Palestinians of their land, their homes and their rights. On the other hand, he does not describe Palestinian resistance and terrorism against Israelis in gory detail. He points out that the United States has both tacitly and overtly approved Israeli repression of Palestinians, including military operations against civilians.

I believe this book presents a fair and balanced picture of what is happening in the region. Against that view, the American government and press is heavily biased toward Israeli interests, inflating every act of Palestinian resistance and minimizing every act of Israeli oppression. Although  Jimmy Carter is considered a meddling nuisance in Washington, DC, he has maintained contacts with all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many politically important Egyptians, Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese believe Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center are helpful intermediaries in the search for peaceful solutions.

I hope many, many Americans will read this book, and let their eyes be opened. It is about a central problem of foreign policy which requires persistent, dispassionate effort. It is interesting that the Iraq Study Group report includes a recommendation to negotiate settlement of the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights. That occupation has a prominent aggravating effect on Arab-Israeli contentions, which encourages Syrian opposition to any settlement of hostilities in Lebanon and Iraq. (What's in it for me?) Jimmy Carter correctly intimates that everything in the Middle East is connected to everything else.

While I may not agree with Jimmy Carter in every detail of his proposals and methods, I believe his work is invaluable to all concerned and should be supported. You can help by buying and reading the book.