Customer Reviews

We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(44)

 

 

Too many of the reviews here are politically motivated. My goal here is to step back and write an objective review about the book only, politics aside.

This book is genuine, intelligently written, and has a well-thought out premise backed by Jimmy Carter's decades of experience working with key leaders on all sides of the Middle-East peace process. The political tide in the United States has turned, and the timing of this book is no mistake: Carter is hoping take advantage of the change to encourage another attempt of peace in the Holy Land.

The main body of the text provides a relevant history of peace efforts in the Middle-East. I found this review to be quite helpful. It reads much easier and more interesting than "The Blood of Abraham," Carter's 1985 detailed history of the various groups involved in the Middle-East. The reason I rated this book as 4 stars instead of 5 is because there really isn't a lot of new information or ideas for those who are well-read on Carter. But I can still highly recommend this book since most people out there haven't read lots of Carter.

Carter recounts the trial-and-error Camp David negotiation process that he used as President in 1978. He reminds us of the bickering and accusations made by both sides, but also the compromises they were ultimately able to agree upon. Carter's role was to lay down and enforce some rules, be willing to ad lib, be determined, and to act as friend and intermediary to both sides.

Carter is not getting any younger, and I think the take-home message is clear. This is an urgent issue that still requires a lot of hard work. Too many lives are being lost everyday on all sides. The Camp David Accords, the Oslo Accords, and other agreements were ground-breaking in their day, but time marches on. It's up to our generation and our country to go to work and use our influence in the pursuit of peace. The process will be difficult and may seem impossible at times. With this book, Carter urges us to try.

I have never seen so many 1 star reviews for a book. People are giving us their opinion of Jimmy Carter and publishing it as a review and many of them are one sentence reviews. Then we have Michael Evans who wrote his review to promote his own book. Michael has praised Sean Hanitty and Bill Orielly with 5 star reviews for their books and he was friends with Menachem Begin who is quoted in the book as the "most notorious terrorist in the region." Begin is the former leader of the Irgun terrorist group which killed many innocent civilians and bombed the King David Hotel which involved the murder of dozens of people. If bombing a hotel does not qualify someone as a terrorist, regardless of what they did afterwards, than I would like Mr. Evans or anyone to explain why.

Michael asks the question; "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?" I counter this by asking; Could it be that Jimmy Carter is actually telling the truth and giving us the facts which are hard to swallow?

People condemn Carter for being too critical of Israel and not blaming the Palestinians enough. Only two months after taking office back in 1976, Carter said in answer to reporters question that Israel needs to be "recognized by the Palestinians" and the desire to destroy Israel must change. He says in the book that "the same answer can be given today."
He starts the book off by telling us his early fascination of the Middle East region as a kid and then gives us a brief overview of all the death and destruction that Israel and her neighbors have done to each other. The next chapter includes the awful truth of the illegal settlements and how every President since Lyndon B. Johnson has considered the settlements in the occupied territory to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

The settlements are the main issue that has blocked peace efforts and in chapter 11, Carter explains to us the insanity of the Israeli government in regards to this issue. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice once said while she was in Jerusalem that she was "very concerned" about the continual building of settlements at a time when we are trying to "build confidence." The response by Israel was to build 1300 new homes in the West Bank and projected 40,000 more during the next decade." Israel has metaphorically given the middle finger to President Bush and every U.S. president of the last 30 years who has ever tried to stop the building of settlements on Palestinian land. This is the root of the conflict.

In chapter 12, Carter talks about the frightening scenario of the Palestinians being absorbed into Israel in a one state solution. Prime Minister Ehud Olemert is quoted twice in interviews with Jewish newspapers Yediot Aharanot and the Haaretz as having said that if Palestinians ever demand the right to vote as citizens of Israel, "we will lose everything." He also said if a two state solution does not work, we will "face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights." You can find this all on page 164.

He ends the book by saying the blood of Abraham continues to run through the veins of Jews, Christians, and Arabs and "too much of it has been spilled" in the holy land. He shows a poll which has the majority of Israel wanting peace, but he says that it is the minority conservative leaders in Israel that have done everything to avoid peace and these leaders and have been backed by powerful American Jewish organizations such as AIPAC. Please read the Israel Lobby for more on this.

The final solutions that Mr. Carter suggests are summed up as: A demilitarized Palestinian state, a withdrawal of all settlers from the West Bank except from Jerusalem (which should be a capital of both states), the right of the Palestinians to return to the West Bank and Gaza, an international peacekeeping force at the borders, and a commitment from both states to recognize their right to live side by side. These resolutions are reasonable and fair, but the removal of all settlers from the West Bank is something that is difficult to imagine considering the stubbornness of the Israeli government and the unwillingness of the U.S. government to have a backbone. Only time will tell if President Obama may finally be the man to say to Israel; remove the settlements, or else.

First off, anyone who says Jimmy Carter is an extremist for either Israelis or Palestinians is just plain wrong. In light of the current situation and Carter's stance on that situation it is fairly obvious to an objective observer that Carter is a moderate.

"We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land," by Jimmy Carter is a relatively short book that brings the reader up to speed on the history of events in the Holy and, then proposes a solution that requires give and take from both sides. Carter has studied and directly dealt with this region for several decades now as both President of the United States and through the Carter Center. He has a profound understanding of both the Israeli and Palestinian views.

Something I particularly like about this book is that, unlike some other books on this tricky issue, it filters out much of the propaganda spewed out from both sides, a lot of times in the popular media. Carter deals in the facts of the situation, as opposed to the machinations of folks on both sides who have an unworkable agenda.

While I learned a certain amount from this book, and recommend it to people with an interest in the region, I feel that Carter goes a bit far in patting himself on the back throughout the book. He certainly has done a lot of work in the region and definitely knows his stuff, so there is no need to do so much patting of oneself on the back. All in all, though, it does not detract significantly from Carter's core message and plan.

Ever hear stories about the Israel / Palestine situation and think "How did things get this way?" and "Can't they just get along?" In this book Jimmy Carter concisely explains the history of the conflict and the blow-by-blow happenings of the last 30 or so years, emphasizing his role in the continuing negotiations. He answered so many questions and really explained the situation in a way that the talking heads on the news never have. Thank you, Mr. Carter.

President Carter continues to be a lightning rod for criticism by some people, vilified as a bible thumping moralist by the Reagan Republicans, while simultaneously being tarred and feathered as a tax and spend incompetent by current day members of the Christian Right. If you feel comfortable with either of those characterizations, why don't you just do your blood pressure a favor and look elsewhere for information. Sadly, Mr. Carter is not likely to change your mind with this book.

If however, you do not have your mind made up as to who's right and who's wrong in the Middle East, you should find "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work" to be enlightening and informative. Whether you find it encouraging or discouraging is up to you.

Mr. Carter does a good job of recounting the events that have brought us to the current state of affairs (some might say malaise), from Anwar Sadat's bold initiative to the Camp David accords and most recently the Bush Administration's roadmap to peace. It's not a smooth path and from my reading both Israeli and Palestinian camps have reason to regret their contributions to the lack of progress. He then outlines the preferred (by many) two state solution with sovereign entities for Israel and Palestine (and a shared Jerusalem as capital of both) and compares that to the one state solution that the region (for better or worse... likely worse) that events seem to pointed to.

What makes this worthy of note is that through the Carter Center, President Carter has been intimately involved in working with all parties to bring understanding and rationality to a millennial set of problems. While the United Nations gets bogged down by its bureaucracy, and Mr. Carter's other affiliation with The Elders treads perhaps a little too delicately, the Carter Center has people and offices on the ground in both sovereign Israel and the West Bank. He and his colleagues speak from direct observation, not from ideological platforms.
I can't say for sure that President Carter has the best solution, however I feel confident in my belief that he does have perhaps the best perspective of all the parties involved.

Jimmy Carter, We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land


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.

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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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).

Several years ago, I read Carter's book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. I enjoyed it and learned a lot. He really attempted to present the perspectives and parts of all the parties involved (the countries and peoples). That book primarily focused on the many sides. This book spends the first few chapters reiterating what the first book talked about. But, then he enters new territory and the events of the past nine years.

Before he begins, he writes an introduction/forward that addresses the controversy over the title of his first book and specifically the use of the word "apartheid". It was very interesting and informative. His explanation is likely something that very few Americans are aware of. I actually did hear Tavis Smiley's interview of Jimmy Carter on PBS about that book and he questioned him very disrespectfully about the title. His questions were accusatory and inappropriate. Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, responded in a very respectful way with a great deal of decorum.

After the introduction and first few chapters of the book, Carter begins to talk about what has happened in Israel and Palestine during the last 9 years. He included several statistics that simply made me cry.

This book is an important one. At first, I thought this book supplanted his first and that there would be no need to read the first. But, I don't think that is the case. Both are important. The first because it talks about all of the sides. The second because it talks about the last 9 years and the events of those years.

Writing in his usual modest style, Nobel Peace Laureate former President Jimmy Carter lays out the history of political and diplomatic events in Israel/Palestine since 1948. In the first 12 chapters, he provides a clear and even-handed summary that favors no country--including the U.S.--over another. He makes a strong case for engaging Israel/Palestine's neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, in any solution of an apparently intransigent situation.He does not praise or blame, but simply lays out the facts gleaned from first-hand experience.
In the 13th chapter and the 5 enormously insightful appendices that follow, he lays out the agenda for peace. Jimmy Carter understands the deep need of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and safety. He believes that the moment of decision is close, and that strong, unbiased U.S. presidential leadership willing to deal with both Fatah and Hamas is vital.Despair in lack of progress will lead to disaster: one state instead of the majority-desired two-state solution.
I am using this book for group discussion. It's great for that, although it provides no discussion guide. The 5 maps are terrific, although I would have liked more. That, and the fact that he does not mention the plight of ancient Christian communities in the region,might be the only reason not to give this book 5 stars.

After President Carter's last book on the middle east that stirred passions within Israel by describing Israeli policy as a form of apartheid, he steps back into the field with a constructive look at the issue.

No one can doubt his commitment as a peacemaker, and his previous involvement in Arab-Israeli affairs give him a unique perspective. He understands the unique role the United States and in particular, its president must play in developing solutions. While no one has a silver bullet, Mr. Carter has again advanced the conversation. An important book for people with an interest in the Middle East.

A well-reasoned argument about how peace could be achieved...Clear, realistic, statesmanlike and balanced. I always admired President Carter for his morals and ethics, qualities so out-of-place yet so needed today. ...the problem is when you have polarized extremists who believe "if you ain't for me, you're against me", reason usually isn't enough. Excellent index, nice maps; could use a glossary for those not up to speed on some of the concepts, and some photos of President Carter meeting with regional leaders would be good. Very accessible reading however, even for young and bright readers. The book does assume some familiarity with the historical background on the part of the reader. A very timely and sound book by a great President.