So when I heard that my hero Jimmy Carter had finally written a prophetic book titled Palestine: Peace not Apartheid I was more than eager to plunge in. I fully expected to love this book. But I don’t.
The book has tendered a firestorm of reaction for Carter’s criticisms of the policies of both Israel and the United States toward the Palestinians. That is not my beef. I agree with Carter’s assessments of these policies, as do most of Europe and the non-Western world. Although it is rarely noted in the other reviews I have read, Carter doesn’t place all of the blame for the current crisis upon one side. He repeatedly demonstrates the failures of Palestinian leaders in following the “Roadmap to Peace.” But it was not the intent of this book to present a balanced perspective on the causes for the crisis. As even the title suggests, Carter’s intent is to make the case that Israel is conducting a system of apartheid with the Palestinians. And that is where the book fails.
The vast majority of the book is spent tracing the history of political, social, and military developments in Israel and Palestine. Although the author briefly dips into ancient history, most of the chapters are focused on tracing the devolution of the hopes for peace that accompanied the Camp David Accords of 1978-79. Thus, the real thesis of the book, as opposed to the stated one, is that we had it right in those days but the succession of Israeli and American politicians did not stay the course. While this may be true, it gives the reader the impression that the former President is eating sour grapes as he types each word — “Just follow the plan I started, will you?”
Clearly, things have changed dramatically in Palestine and Israel over the last twenty-eight years. Among these changes has been the partitioning of the countries with a wall, the military and economic strangulation of Gaza, the democratically-elected Hamas government and its ongoing internal struggles with Fatah, the continual suicide bombings in Israel, and the constant referencing to the Palestinian plight by other Middle Eastern nations such as Iran. As wonderful as the Camp David Peace Accords were, the issues have now spread far beyond Israel’s historic tensions with Egypt. We need new ideas.
Carter could have made a substantial contribution to the contemporary crisis by devoting his book to demonstrating how Israel is, in fact, now conducting a policy of apartheid. That would, perhaps, explain not only the rationale behind Israel’s recent actions, but also the desperate responses of some Palestinian extremists. Obviously this would not have mitigated the severe reaction Carter has received for the book. At least then his criticisms would have been over an issue more creative than that the former president is taking sides. But the term apartheid only appears a few times in the book and is never even defined, not to mention convincingly applied to Israeli policy.
Has Israel backed into a policy of apartheid with the Palestinians? I don’t know, but it sure would explain a lot. Sadly, after reading this book, I still don’t know.
M. Craig Barnes is a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and pastor of Shadyside Church in Pittsburgh, Pa.
