BOOK REVIEW: Jimmy Carter, We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land

In this urgent, balanced, and passionate book, Nobel Peace Laureate and former President Jimmy Carter argues that the present moment is a unique time for achieving peace in the Middle East — and he offers a bold and comprehensive plan to do just that.

by Michael D. Evans

Former President Jimmy Carter has just released a new book, We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan that Will Work. Carter’s solution is straightforward; Israel should embrace the Quartet. The plan is backed by a group known simply as The Elders, an idea formulated by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and musician Peter Gabriel to create a world council of elders to tackle issues such as peace in the Middle East. Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center are heavily involved with this endeavor. Carter is one of three appointed as Elders to the Middle East. The delegation’s objectives were met with skepticism by the Israelis, but according to Mr. Carter, were eagerly embraced by the "Palestinians, peace groups and human rights activists in the region."

How could he ask the Jewish people to embrace a group know as The Elders? The controversial Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is the biggest bestselling book in a bigoted world, and is charged with fueling anti-Semitism, from the Russian pogroms to the Holocaust. Carter’s plan is to allow the Quartet to solve the Middle East problem. He calls for peace-loving organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas and states like Iran and Syria to be involved in the negotiating process in order to have peace in the Holy Land.

Carter refers to Jews again and again as "radicals," another word for terrorists. He called Menachem Begin a "radical" and then goes on to describe him as the "most notorious terrorist in the region." Of course, he said the British said that, not him. Carter describes Benjamin Netanyahu as a " key political associate and naysayer" who was strongly opposed to Israel relinquishing control over the Sinai.

It appears that Jimmy Carter is revising history. The Benjamin Netanyahu I know was attending college during the Camp David meetings. In fact, when I recommended him to Begin for a government job, the prime minister did not even know who Benjamin was. I have no idea how Carter was so aware of Benjamin Netanyahu’s political ideology; he was selling furniture.

The former president writes that Begin agreed to divide Jerusalem. I found that to be astonishing…especially since Mr. Begin had given me a copy of the letter he wrote to Jimmy Carter on September 17, 1978. In the letter he wrote, "Dear Mr. President….On the basis of this law, the government of Israel decreed in July 1967 that Jerusalem is one city indivisible, the capital of the State of Israel."

According to Begin, Jimmy Carter informed him that the U.S. government did not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Begin told me he responded, "Excuse me sir, but the State of Israel does not recognize your non-recognition."

The former president writes that Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to a freeze on building Jewish settlements. Begin told me he had not agreed to a total freeze; he only agreed not to build new settlements for three months, during the negotiations. Carter gives the impression that he and Begin were close friends by saying that Begin and Sadat visited him in Plains to reaffirm the personal commitments each had made to the other. I found that quite humorous; Mr. Begin told me he had refused to meet with Jimmy Carter when the president traveled to Jerusalem. At that time, he was no longer Prime Minister but was outraged that Carter had misrepresented the events during their meetings.

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Carter viewed Yasser Arafat as a Middle East George Washington. He pens, "We pursued the concept of non-violent resistance of Hamas leaders and gave them documentation and video presentations on the successful experiences of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others." Peace in the Holy Land must include Palestinian militant leader, Marwan Barghouti, the serial killer. Carter calls him the "most intriguing player in the Middle East." He wants him to run for the office of the presidency in the Palestinian National Authority.

Menachem Begin told me of a meeting with Carter during which he gave the president a list of cities in the United States with Bible names, i.e., Shiloh, Hebron and Bethel. He asked Carter, "Could you imagine the governor of Pennsylvania would proclaim that anyone could live in the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, except Jews?" President Carter agreed that such a man, if he did such a thing, would be guilty of racism. Begin replied that he was governor of the state in which the original Bethlehem, and the original Jericho, and the original Shiloh were located. He asked me, "Did Carter expect me to say that everybody could live in those cities except Jews?"

Could it be that Jimmy Carter’s ideals are formulated by the number of zeros before the decimal on the contributions to the Carter Center by oil-rich Gulf States? These same States do not now nor will they ever allow Jews to worship freely within their borders no matter how much land Israel relinquishes.

Carter’s final plea is for President Barack Obama to "shape a comprehensive peace effort between Israel and the Palestinians….then use persuasion and enticements to reach these reasonable goals with the full backing of other members of the International Quartet [Russia, the UN, the EU, and the United States] and the Arab nations." It is likely he would call on The Elders for their expertise. The best thing President Obama could do is completely ignore Jimmy Carter and his plan.

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VIDEO: 38 Minutes with Jimmy Carter: Charlie Rose Interviews Jimmy Carter on the Middle East, Relations with China, and Barack Obama

Michael D. Evans, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, is the author of Jimmy Carter: The Liberal Left and World Chaos. A television special based on the book is currently being produced (www.carterbooktv.com)  

About Jimmy Carter:  He was born in Plains, Georgia, and served as thirty-ninth President of the United States. He and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that prevents and resolves conflicts, enhances freedom and democracy, and improves health around the world. He is the author of numerous books, including Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, An Hour Before Daylight and Our Endangered Values. He received a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy Award for his recording of Our Endangered Values. All of President Carter’s proceeds from this series will go to the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia.