BOOK REVIEW
"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed." Francis Bacon (d. 1626)
Book Reviewed
by Darold Morgan, Richardson, TX
Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
Jimmy Carter, Simon and Shuster, New York, 2006, $26.
Simply stated, this is mandatory reading for Americans who are interested in world peace. Additionally, it is a blockbuster! It is factual, controversial, informational, unnerving, riveting reading! Until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is settled justly, there can be no peace in the Middle East, and like it or not, the United States has a major role in trying to effect a lasting peace settlement.
Jimmy Carter`s interest in Middle East affairs, particularly those related to Israeli-Arab issues is legendary. The most publicized accomplishment in his presidential years was the 1978 Camp David Accords, which developed a framework for peace in the Middle East. Sadat, Egypt`s president, and Begin, prime minister of Israel, with Carter as the moderator at Camp David, committed their nations to this framework.
Part of the value of this book is the inclusion of the actual words of this Accord. There are also appendixes which include the very important United Nations resolutions pertaining to this conflict. Carter chose to include the Arab Peace Proposals of 2002, the highly publicized Roadmap to Middle East Peace, and the Israeli response to this important plan. Another valuable resource in the book is a historical chronology of these Middle East developments. For three thousand years biblical backgrounds are combined with ancient, medieval and modern history to prove how complicated and intense these racial and religious conflicts are. It is apparent that the eyes of the entire world are focused on this tiny geographical sliver of land known in Roman times as Syria-Palestina. Today it is Israel versus Palestine!
Since the 1946 United Nations action which recreated Israel as a nation after nearly two thousand years of non-existence, America has been uniquely regarded as Israel`s most supportive friend. This action was closely connected to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. Making a home for Jews would in someway help in this aftermath of one of the most terrible events ever in world history. The pathetic noises from Iran challenging the actuality of the Holocaust question the legitimacy of Israel`s existence.
The issues involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are so convoluted, it is all but impossible to sort them out. Some of these are the Israeli contempt for the Palestinian leadership, with Arafat being the focal point of this attitude. There are the terrible and tragic impacts in Israel of the Palestinian suicide bombers. A most serious and complicating fact is the undeniable truth that Israel has built hundreds of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, land which indisputably had belonged to the Palestinians for multiple centuries. Carter makes this the focal point for his flammable use of the difficult word, Apartheid!
Complicating an already complicated scene are other serious factors as well, and Carter plainly and often plaintively goes into them: United States` support of Israel`s most recent excursion into Lebanon, the rivalries and conflicts within Palestinian leadership, the inevitable focus on Jerusalem, which Israel has made its national capital. To Moslems around the world, Jerusalem is the third most sacred location because the Temple Mount is regarded as the site where Mohammed ascended to heaven. On this location are located some of the most sacred buildings in the world to his followers. Near this, of course, is the location of the most sacred site in the world to Jews-the Wailing Wall, the only part of Herod`s Temple still standing. This area resonates with meaning to Christians because without doubt many of the key locations in the public ministry of Jesus fit within this same location. How to administer this and fulfill the U.N. mandate of openness and access to all religions is no small feat.
Carter does an admirable job of documenting his and Mrs. Carter`s innumerable visits not only to Israel and Palestine, but to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. No other American leader has been so involved in this quandary. Carter bluntly chastises the Islamic people who refuse to acknowledge Israel`s right to exist and regards this recognition as an urgently "vital" basis for peace. The 2002 "Road Map for Peace," a plan put forth by the Saudis, agrees.
Equally so, Carter blames the Israeli government for blatantly ignoring U.N. resolutions, as he states forcefully: "Peace will come to Israel and the Middle East only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law, with the Roadmap for Peace, with official American policy, with the wishes of a majority of its own citizens-and honor its own previous commitments-by accepting its legal borders" (p 216).
Carter`s book has offended the powerful Jewish lobby in the United States. They charge that he has singled out the Israelis unfairly in their effort to protect their very existence as a nation. Read the book and decide for yourself the pros and cons of the arguments about one of the most serious conflicts of this entire century. The debate inevitably ties the growing conflict of our nation and the Islamic renaissance of these times. Carter has not backed away from his critics and maintains the positions of this book, despite the pressures. President Carter has provided insights regarding one of the most convoluted regions of the entire world, as well as the wisdom and patience needed by all parties involved in the solutions.
