Jimmy Carter discusses his latest book, "Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid"

[Annces]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec06/carter_11-28.html

JUDY WOODRUFF, NewsHour Special Correspondent: The former president and Nobel Peace Prize-winner has just written his 21st book. It is called "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid."

That title has brought some sharp critiques from Americans sympathetic to Israel, and its publications comes amid both renewed tensions and some peaceful gestures between Israelis and Palestinians.

President Carter, it's good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

JIMMY CARTER, Former President of the United States: It's nice to be with you. Thank you, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The title, you chose, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." Did you mean to be provocative, because this immediately calls to mind South Africa, the repression of blacks by whites?

JIMMY CARTER: Yes. But I don't consider the word "provocative" to be negative. I wanted to provoke...

JUDY WOODRUFF: The word "apartheid."

JIMMY CARTER: The whole title, I wanted to provoke discussion, debate, inquisitive analysis of the situation there, which is almost completely absent throughout the United States, but it's prevalent every day in Israel and in Europe. This is needed, I think, for our country to understand what's going on in the West Bank.

And I chose this title very carefully. It's Palestine, first of all. This is the Palestinians' territory, not Israel.

Secondly, the emphasis is on peace.

And the third thing is not apartheid. I don't want to see apartheid. And since now the entire peace process is completely dormant, there hasn't been one day for good faith substantive negotiations in the last six years to bring peace to Israel, I wanted to rejuvenate this process.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And you say it's dormant, and yet today Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announcing she's going to meet with the leader of the Palestinians, Mr. Abbas, later this week. Isn't that a sign of progress, potential progress?

JIMMY CARTER: Well, a sign of progress -- to talk to one side and then talk to the other is very nice. But I'm talking about there hasn't been a day of negotiation orchestrated or promoted by the United States between Israel and the Palestinians in six years.

And for all practical purposes, it is dormant. I don't mean that the United States has not visited Israel; I don't mean that the secretary of state hasn't talked to the Israelis and the Palestinians.

And let me get to the word "apartheid." Apartheid doesn't apply at all, as I made plain in my book, anything that relates to Israel to the nation. It doesn't imply anything as it relates to racism. This apartheid, which is prevalent throughout the occupied territories, the subjection of the Palestinians to horrible abuse, is caused by a minority of Israelis -- we're not talking about racism, but talking about their desire to acquire, to occupy, to confiscate, and then to colonize Palestinian land.

So the whole system is designed to separate through a ferocious system Israelis who live on Palestine territory and Palestinians who want to live on their own territory.





***************************

If you don't want to read the rest, and prefer music - here is a blues song by Jimmy McCracklin.

http://www.livinblues.com/music1/aed7e4e7b8ce6bcf/jmccracklinthewalk.mp3

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

1. If Bush really wanted to end terrorism and violence in the Middle East

he would have spent maybe just one-tenth of the capital and time he's spent on the Iraq war in trying to bring peace between Israel and Palestine. That open sore is what is fueling much of the rage, hatred, and violence in the Middle East.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I found this statement to be very telling:

JIMMY CARTER: Well, a sign of progress -- to talk to one side and then talk to the other is very nice. But I'm talking about there hasn't been a day of negotiation orchestrated or promoted by the United States between Israel and the Palestinians in six years.


Bush has been too busy being a "war president" to bother with the practice of diplomacy. He thinks he can threaten and bully other nations into doing his bidding. We can see how well that is working.

[IntiRaymi]

2. Hehehe

:popcorn:

[mike_c]

3. Carter is one of the last great American statesmen....

eom

[Annces]

4. Yes and he really seems to be out of the gate

talking about all kinds of pressing issues. And he looks vibrant.