Palestine Peace Not Apartheid

This book is right on target regarding the problems facing Israel.

This is one of the first books I have read that honestly presents the problems facing the Israelis and Palestinians in a long time. President Jimmy Carter takes you through the region and has the reader look at what both sides are doing correctly and what they need to do in order to make the country work in a peaceful manner. This would be an excellent book for social studies classes in high school and a must read for anyone that is interested in Israel.

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Right on Point

This book really points out what is wrong over in the Middle East. It shows the problems that stem from years of neglect from World War I, when the allies took the Middle East and take it apart for their exploits. The lack of help from western countries has made the region. Majority of the problems started with the Israel-Palestine conflict and President Carter notes that point and explains in detail. Absolutely a great book. There is indeed two sides to a story.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jimmy ought to read Galatians

That's it? From a former U.S. President. Epitomizes impotence in intelectualism. "Why can't we all be happy?" type mindset from the beginning. Shows how uncommitted everyone is except in halfassed attempts to save face. Doesn't even begin to explain who and how the Israelis are backed from beyond the deception of politics. Nice that Jimmy bathed in the Jordan and feels an affinity with the Jewish God and at the same time recognizes how wronged the local Arabs became. But feelings don't fix squat. Perhaps a better understanding of Galatians would help him realize God's attitude toward the Jews!

Highly Recommend!

Palestine peace not apartheid President Carter has always wanted peace since he was elected as the president back in 1977. In this book President Carter wants the US and the American people to know the struggle of the people of Palestine under the Israeli government and how Palestine is being colonized by them. This book is honestly a great book that presents the problems facing the Israelis and Palestinians. President Jimmy Carter takes you through the region and has us look at what both sides are doing correctly and what they need to do in order to make the country work. This book presents two side of the situation religiously and politically, in the book he says “ there are constant and vehement political and media debates in Israel concerning its policies in the west bank, but because of powerful political, economic and religious forces in the united states, Israeli government decisions are rarely questioned or condemned..” pg.209, he thinks that Israelis are such a big important part to the US that letting the information about Palestine out would destroy us because we rely so much on them. I liked a couple things about this book I liked that it had the side about Palestine and actually identified the Palestinian problems not just the Jews and Israeli problems. People NEED to read this book because were so one sided as Americans and we ignore the fact that Palestinians are getting trashed on when there really not to blame. I had no dislikes to the story because I believe it did a great job on letting us know what actually is going on there.

Pitiful

Do not buy. WARNING : HORRIBLE BOOK DO NOT BUY!!!!!!!!!!!

book lover

Interesting book. Very well written from American point of view. Better on this subject is Fisk's Great war... still enjoyed reading this too.

Insight from an insider to the dynamics of Palestine and Israel

President Jimmy Carter attempts to seek peace for one of the most misunderstood and mishandled events of the 20th century.As a U.S. citizen we need insight to the effect of our country's past and present actions to Israel.It is a gross abuse to label all palestinians as terrorist intent on destroying Israel.
Our politics and the U.S. media seems to be getting in the way of our humanity. There are plenty of videos on the internet to verify how tragic the isolation of the palestinians has become.

Amazing book

There is great books and i´m sure this is one of them. There is only a few books i think where you can find truly and serius information about the Israel-Palestinian conflict, because we can see the entire problem with honesty, true and enlightening. Excellent book for intellectual and human stimulation.

False

Fiction should not be advertised as non-fiction. Carter's books are full of so much misinformation that he might as well just call them "novels"...even "fairy tales".
If Carter spent more time meeting with intelligent, peace loving leaders, rather than terrorist organizations, he might have a better view of the real situation in the middle east.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Useful survey of the conflict

The 39th President of the United States has written an even-handed and objective survey of the Israel-Palestine conflict. He claims that the USA has a vital role to play: ¿Strong support for peace talks must come from the United States¿ but, as he admits, ¿The United States stands almost alone in its undeviating backing of Israel.¿ With this bias for Israel and against Palestine, the US state cannot be an honest broker, nor can its allies, like Blair and the EU. Israel¿s settlements and occupation are illegal under international law, under Security Council Resolutions supported by both Israel and the USA, for example Resolution 242, which requires Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories. Israel¿s Supreme Court acknowledges that Israel holds the West Bank `in belligerent occupation¿. The Palestinians now recognise Israel¿s right to exist in its 1967 borders. Carter notes, ¿there was a sustained commitment by Israel¿s government to avoid full compliance with the Oslo Agreement or with key U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338.¿ As he notes, after making various agreements at the 1998 Wye Conference, ¿the Israeli cabinet voted to postpone execution of the Wye River Memorandum.¿ Israel still rejects the Oslo Agreement¿s key provisions and it refuses to recognise the Palestinian National Authority. After the Taba talks of January 2001, Carter writes, ¿It was later claimed that the Palestinians rejected a `generous offer¿ put forward by Prime Minister Barak with Israel keeping only 5 percent of the West Bank. The fact is that no such offers were ever made.¿ The Palestinians accept the Road Map, while Israel rejects it. As Carter sums up, ¿In order to achieve its goals, Israel has decided to avoid any peace negotiations.¿ Carter told the Israeli Knesset in 1979, ¿The people support a settlement. Political leaders are the obstacle to peace.¿ A consistent majority of Israelis back withdrawing from Palestinian territory similarly a consistent majority of Palestinians back a two-state peace agreement with Israel. 62% of Israelis favour direct talks with Hamas. Carter writes, ¿The overriding problem is that, for more than a quarter century, the actions of some Israeli leaders have been in direct conflict with the official policies of the United States, the international community, and their own negotiated agreements. ... Israel¿s continued control and colonization of Palestinian land have been the primary obstacles to a comprehensive agreement in the Holy Land. ¿ Two other interrelated factors have contributed to the perpetuation of violence and regional upheaval the condoning of illegal Israeli actions from a submissive White House and U.S. Congress during recent years, and the deference with which other international leaders permit this unofficial U.S policy in the Middle East to prevail.¿ The US state has abandoned the peace process. Carter concludes, ¿The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories. It will be a tragedy ¿ for the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world ¿ if peace is rejected and a system of oppression, apartheid, and sustained violence is permitted to prevail.¿

A reviewer

This book was wonderful. President Carter sheds light on the human rights abuses perpetrated by Israel. I wish US policy makers would read this book. Until the Israeli government to begins to obey UN resolutions and treats the Palestinians humanely the world will not enjoy peace.

War is the root cause

I always had a sincere admiration for President Carter. I think he is very genuine when it comes to global peace. Although I can't comment on most of his opinions 'and Israel-Palestine conflict for that matter', 'Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid' has definitely given all of a us lots of fodder to brainstorm our thoughts on this historic conflict, which pretty much drives majority of the unrest in the middle east. It's always said that it's equally important to read the other side of the story if we are sincerely willing to achieve peace. 'Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid' has done just that and pretty much tells us the following. THERE IS NO ROOT CAUSE FOR WAR. WAR IS THE ROOT CAUSE. N.Sivakumar Author of 'America Misunderstood: What a Second Bush Victory Meant to the Rest of the World.'

Carter's Book a Disappointment

In the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS on page 249, there is the following statement: 'This book is designed to examine the root causes of the continuing conflict and to spell out the only clear path to permanent peace and justice in the Holy Land.' Jimmy Carter's book fails to meet this stated objective. One would expect that a very intelligent, educated man who has served as President of the United States and has maintained steady involvement with world affairs, especially in the Mid-east, would be able to provide insight into the nuances of the events leading to the establishment of the State of Israel, its struggle for survival since then, and the devastating effects on the Arab residents, the Palestinians, displaced from that area. The book is mostly an account of the series of events in that area without analysis. It is as if Carter had written this book based on a diary. It is useful to read this historical summary as a refresher, but what was missing was 'context,' no explanation of background and details to enable understanding of why something happened. For example, in describing the Six-Day War in 1967, military moves by Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, including the closing of the Strait of Timan, were mentioned in one sentence, followed by emphasis on Israel's launching a preemptive strike. In fact, the three countries had been making threatening moves for several months, had mobilized armies, and had made public statements that they intended to annihilate Israel. There was certainly strong provocation for Israel's preemptive strike. Throughout the book, Carter places great emphasis on U.N. Resolution 242, enacted several months after the Six-Day War, along with subsequent resolutions, as the basis to settle matters between Israel and the Palestinians. But he does not discuss why Israel rejected it until Menachem Begin agreed to the Camp David Accords in 1978. Aside from philosophical reasons for the U.S. to support Israel over the years, a fundamental reason is that the Soviets gave much support to the Arab nations in the Mid-east and made as much mischief as they could. Israel stood as a bulwark against communist influence in that region. But all that Carter could say about it was a brief comment on pages 129 and 130 that '....Syria and other Arab nations lost their strong political and military support from Moscow...' after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Carter consistently criticizes Israel for the miserable circumstances of the Palestinian people and there is certainly much to criticize. But it is very difficult for any American Jew, devout or secular, to be objective about Israel when it is attacked as Carter has done. 'Peace will come ....... only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law....' In my opinion, Carter's book is superficial and not well-written. Rational discourse is almost impossible when he deliberately used the irrelevant and provocative word 'Apartheid' in the title, used it periodically in the text, and continues to defend it publicly in his interviews about his book. Carter has not made a useful contribution to solving a very difficult problem.

A reviewer

Jimmy Carter has the courage to challenge US political views of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. If you are interested to verify some of his historical facts, read articles from the UN archives as well as British newspaper articles, where the facts are less biased than US media. Only by understanding the root causes of the conflict to the present day and admitting to past attrocities, can we hope to find justice. It has never been an Islam-Judaism conflict but a Palestinian-Zionist conflict.

eye opener

I must admit that i was surprised from what i read in this amazing book. It is just on the contrary of all what our media has been saying about the middle east conflict over the past 50 years. This coming from a former president who was involved in the middle east policies and peace making there makes our people ask many questions regarding our foreign policies. This is a must read book that i highly recommend.

Finally an Honest book about what needs to be done to bring peace in Palestine

Outstanding book. It is the first book of its kind, where the author exposes the lies that fill the US news media and the shameless israeli jewish lobby in this country and elsewhere in the world. I truly hope that more and more people's eyes are opened to the atrocities inflicted everyday against Palestinians and the shameless land grabbing and arrogant defiance of all international laws and treaties. I truly hope peace can fill the holy land. But peace, as President Carter truthfully says it, cannot and will not happen unless a sovereign Palestinian state is established with the pre-1967 borders with full rights to Palestinians self-determination and the right of return of all Palestinian refugees and exiled citizens. Thank you President Carter for being so courageous and for not being intimidated by the israeli jewish lobby.

A rare instance of political courage

President Carter took a risk by writing this book. He was aware that the title was provocative and that he might be unfairly criticized as a bigot and that his legacy might be tarnished. Other political figures such as President Clinton have been unwilling to take similar risks, and it seems clear that Carter undertook the writing of this book because he genuinely believes that U.S. political figures need to speak out against the inhumane treatment endured by the Palestinian people. After reading the book, it is obvious that the substance of President Carter's book is well researched and well written. The sections discussing the Camp David Accords and their unfortunate failure to force Israeli Prime Minister Begin to commit in writing to a freeze on settlement expansions were particularly enlightening. Jimmy Carter is a rare example of political courage in U.S. politics.

An Objective Analysis

This is an objective assessment of the Palestinian Israeli conflict that is seldom reported in the US media. It's an eye opener. President Carter should be commended for his continued dedication to the peace process started during his administration. There are two sides to every story. He brings to the forefront the plight of the Palestinians, which needs to be addressed in order to achieve a secure and stable Middle East.

A different perspective worth reading

This book is uncomfortable and scary. Clearly, this is an extremely sensitive issue for many people and is going to generate heavy emotions. However, I can't stress how important it is for people to read this book. No matter where you come out at the end of the day, most of us probably need more exposure to the other side of a tragic conflict that we normally don't get in the mainstream media. As for the actual writing: Carter does what I've always thought he does best--be clear, concise and throughly page-turning.

wonderful

wonderful book, everyone should read this! It is worth the time!