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Palestine Peace Not Apartheid
by Jimmy Carter

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/467042.Palestine_Peace_Not_Apartheid?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Palestine Peace Not Apartheid" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51200oHCMiL._SL160_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/467042.Palestine_Peace_Not_Apartheid?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Palestine Peace Not Apartheid</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6113.Jimmy_Carter">Jimmy Carter</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8541703?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 3 of 5 stars Jimmy Carter gives a really straightforward, liberal presentation of the situation in the middle east over the last 35 or so years. I think he does himself a disservice by describing the situation as (and titling his book with) an "apartheid," as throughout the book Carter points out that he understands the difficult position of each side: Palestinian and Israeli. I guess he needed to title his book with something controversial to get silly fools like me to actually pick it up and give it a read. He's far more moderate than the title seemingly makes out.
 
 I do believe in one of the tenets that Carter espouses: that peace is wanted by a majority of the people in the region, the current struggle is merely a political one. Here's a good quote to that effect:
 
 "As [Jimmy Carter:] said in a 1979 speech to the Israeli Knesset, 'The people support a settlement. Political leaders are the obstacle to peace.' Over the years, public opinion surveys have consistently shown that a majority of Israelis favor withdrawing from Palestinian territory in exchange for peace, and recent polls show that 80 percent of Palestinians still want a two-state peace agreement with Israel..."
 
 Of course, times have changed since 1979, still, I believe in the basic issue here. It simply does not make sense to live in a state of constant battle. In the long run, peace will help the region prosper. 
 
 Alright, now I'm getting down into more personal beliefs than book review. It's an alright read. If you are interested in the conflict in the middle east, I'd recommend Thomas Friedman's from Beirut to Jerusalem over this one. 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/227647?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Josh's review
rating:

bookshelves: israel
status: Read in November, 2007 — I have a copy to sell/swap

Jimmy Carter gives a really straightforward, liberal presentation of the situation in the middle east over the last 35 or so years. I think he does himself a disservice by describing the situation as (and titling his book with) an "apartheid," as throughout the book Carter points out that he understands the difficult position of each side: Palestinian and Israeli. I guess he needed to title his book with something controversial to get silly fools like me to actually pick it up and give it a read. He's far more moderate than the title seemingly makes out.

I do believe in one of the tenets that Carter espouses: that peace is wanted by a majority of the people in the region, the current struggle is merely a political one. Here's a good quote to that effect:

"As [Jimmy Carter:] said in a 1979 speech to the Israeli Knesset, 'The people support a settlement. Political leaders are the obstacle to peace.' Over the years, public opinion surveys have consistently show...more

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