Bearing False Witness: Jimmy Carter's Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid

This would be the perfect book---brief, well-documented (unlike Jimmy Carter's patchwork of lies) and accurate---for a recent interlocutor, if only he would read. We no doubt all know those who lay claim to open mindedness while relying on the basest modern blood libels against the Jewish people, generated by anti-Semites of Islamic and other varieties. As others here have noted, Israel neither segregates nor discriminates on the basis of race, religion or anything else. This 100-page booklet puts to shame both the former U.S. President and his publisher, Simon and Schuster. The book includes text segments from such luminaries as historian Michael Oren, American Center for Democracy director Rachel Ehrenfeld, former peace negotiator Dennis Ross, former Carter Center executive director Kenneth Stein, and Dexter von Zile. Chapter one, 37 pages, exposes a host of Carter's most egregious errors concerning international borders, agreements, Jewish settlements, Israel-Arab negotiations and Israel's societal structure and composition. For example, Carter never mentions the seven refusals of Palestinian Arabs to accept their own state on a portion of Israel's land---in the 1920s, in 1936, in 1948, in 1967, in 1974, in 1978 and in 2000. Meanwhile, however, he virtually ignores nine decades of Arab terrorism against Jewish communities in both the pre- and post-1948 periods, which took upwards of 10,000 Jewish lives while denying even grudging acceptance of Israel's internationally-granted statehood. Furthermore, despite Carter's claims to the contrary, neither UN Resolution 242, Camp David Accords nor Oslo Agreement requires Israel to withdraw to its 1948 armistice lines. Rather, Resolution 242 asks Israel to withdraw from "territory" in exchange for peace, but leaves the extent of the withdrawal open. Neither does the Camp David Accord define Israel's borders either, instead leaving to final negotiations the resolution of respective boundaries between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. Likewise, Oslo Agreement Article XVII, 1, (a) includes "borders" as an issue for permanent status negotiations. Nevertheless, Israel did grant meaningful autonomy to Palestinians; the 1993 Oslo process established the Palestinian Authority, gave it 40% of the West Bank and 100% of Gaza----plus PA governmental political, security, civic, medical, educational and media controls. All of this notwithstanding (despite Carter's denials), the PLO even now seeks Israel's demise. And counter to both international law and popular opinion, the 1964 PLO charter pronounces the 1947 partition plan and Israel's 1948 establishment illegal; its 1968 charter claims all of "Palestine" --- i.e. Israel, and the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip. Actually, the PLO itself has admitted that it never formally amended either of these documents. Carter blames Israel for the 1967 war, despite Egypt's unilateral May 1967 blockade of Israel's international Gulf of Aqaba port at Eilat, and it

The subtitle of Jimmy Carter's book on Israel, "Peace not Apartheid", implies that Israel discriminates on the basis of race. This is the first in a web of lies, distortions and half-truths that render Carter's book nothing but a piece of propaganda. Countering falsehood with fact, this publication contains contributions by inter alia Kenneth Stein, Rachel Ehrenfeld, Dennis Ross, Michael Oren, Alan Dershowitz, Melvin Konner and Dexter von Zile. The first part exposes the worst of Carter's factual errors about issues like borders, international agreements, settlements, negotiations and the nature of Israeli society. He deliberately minimizes terrorist violence against Israel and ignores the refusal of its enemies to recognize the Jewish State's right to life. Carter claims that Israel's withdrawal to the 1967 border is specified in UN Resolution 242 and promised in the Camp David Accords and Oslo Agreement. But in truth none of these documents requires a return to those vulnerable pre-1967 armistice lines. Resolution 242 calls on Israel to withdraw from territory in exchange for peace without detailing the extent of withdrawal. The Camp David Accords do not define Israel's borders either but state that negotiations concerning the West Bank and Gaza must resolve, among other matters, the final boundaries. Article XVII, 1, (a) of the Oslo Agreements included "borders" as one of the issues for the permanent status negotiations. Carter complains that important provisions of the Camp David agreement have not been honored, accusing Israel of never having granted any meaningful autonomy to the Palestinians. But after 1993 the Oslo process established the Palestinian Authority with control of political, security, civic, medical, educational and media institutions. Israel ceded 40 percent of the West Bank and eventually the whole of the Gaza Strip. Carter denies that the PLO has called for the annihilation of Israel. But its 1964 founding charter declares the 1947 partitioning of Palestine and establishment of Israel as illegal whilst the 1968 charter identifies "Palestine" as all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel. In Carter's revisionist history, Israel is blamed for the 1967 war. He alleges that Israel launched preemptive attacks on Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan on 5th June. But in May that year Egypt expelled the United Nations Emergency Force from the Sinai , deployed 100,000 soldiers there and blockaded Israel's port of Eilat and the Gulf of Aqaba, a vital trade route and oil lifeline. Blockading an international waterway is an act of war under international law. Neither did Israel initiate hostilities against Syria, Jordan or Iraq. When fighting with Egypt broke out, Jordan started shelling the Israeli heartland. Despite this, Israel pleaded with King Hussein to stay out of the war. He responded with aerial attacks. Two of the maps in Carter's book are titled: "Palestinian Interpretation of Clinton's Proposal 2000" and "Israeli Interpreta

Andrea Levin has done a service to all lovers of truth and democracy by systematically exposing Jimmy Carter's lies and distortions. As one who supported him during his Presidency and voted for him - twice, in fact! - I have been extremely disappointed by his performance in recent years, especially his one-sided tilt towards the Palestinians. And then he acts surprised when he is called on his calumny! It was high time that somebody set the record straight, and somebody did.

Excellent collection of articles detailing the numerous and serious errors in Carter's book and interviews, not to mention his malice toward Israel and his gushing admiration for any Arab despot willing to give his Carter Center millions of dollars. It's a page turner and very informative. The article by Ken Stein, who was one of Carter's closest advisors on the Middle East, is particularly revealing.