IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — As long as American politicians are seen as “knee-jerk supporters” of Israel, the country’s role as the principal Mideast peace broker will be endangered, former President Jimmy Carter told a crowd Wednesday at the University of Iowa.
About 6,000 people attended Carter’s lecture on his book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” The book has been embraced by some but attacked by others who contend it’s slanted against Israel. The book prompted 14 members of The Carter Center’s advisory board to resign and drew strong criticism from Jewish groups and some Democrats.
The Iowa City lecture was the 82-year-old Carter’s fourth stop this year on a university lecture tour that has drawn protests and demands that Carter debate opponents on stage.
Carter said Wednesday that he hasn’t dodged any media inquiries or opponents who want to question him, but Iowa students had to submit written questions prior to the event.
“I wrote this book to describe the plight of the Palestinians,” he said. “And because I was convinced that we need a debate about where we are and where we need to go.”
Carter told the crowd that he chose Iowa out of the 100 university lecture invitations he received because Iowa caucus voters have the power to select candidates who will bolster peace efforts after six years of what he sees as inaction by the Bush administration.
“The main reason I came to Iowa is to make sure you knew you could shape an outcome in the 2008 presidential election. At least you can screen out candidates,” he said. “Make them pledge to you… that they will take a balanced position between Israel and Palestinians.”
In response to accusations that he’s biased, Carter noted his work with Israeli and Jewish groups. But he said that unlike current U.S. politicians and diplomats, he’s not subject to pressure from interest groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobby group, hasn’t made an official statement in response to his book.
Carter said he’s been able to see the Palestinian perspective and even worked with Israeli officials to monitor Palestinian elections in 1996, 2005 and 2006.
He called living conditions in the West Bank “intolerable,” with more than 500 checkpoints as well as walls and fences that snake through Palestinian land.
Carter said such conditions warrant his use of the term “apartheid,” though he stressed that several prominent Israeli politicians, journalists and activists have used the word in terms much harsher than his.
“The forced segregation and domination by Israelis is not based on racism,” he said. “The driving force for the terrible oppression and persecution comes from a minority of Israelis.”
He condemned violence against innocent civilians, but said unresolved Arab-Israeli turmoil continues to fuel flames of extremism and anti-Americanism.
About 20 students from the student group Hawkeyes for Israel passed out pamphlets outside the gathering refuting claims in Carter’s book.
“The title ‘apartheid’ is an obvious direct reference to South Africa,” said Aaron Citron, president of the group. “Israel is a democracy, the Arab-Israelis are allowed to vote, there are Arab members of the Knesset who have a fair share as much as anyone else, which I think Carter fails to address.”
Nearby a handful of people held green signs that read, “Palestinians have rights too/End the occupation,” and “Arab Americans for Mideast peace.”
Despite intense feelings about Carter’s book, the crowd received Carter warmly and gave him a standing ovation.
Dr. Jerry Denehy, a dentistry professor, said he doesn’t have a position on Carter’s stands in the book.
“I’ve always liked Jimmy Carter, he’s a principled person,” the 63-year-old said. “Everybody should hear what he has to say whether they agree with him or not.”
Overall, Carter is likely facing more fire in the United States than overseas, where many don’t agree with American support for Israeli policies, said Dennis Ross, a former U.S. Mideast envoy and major player in past Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
“I think he’s more questioned in this country on this issue than he is abroad,” Ross said in an interview.
Ross, a Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has been an outspoken critic of Carter’s book, saying Clinton administration peace proposals from 2000 are misrepresented and inaccurate. Ross was a primary author of the plans.
“What President Carter did in his book leaves the impression that the Clinton ideas were very ambiguous, were subject to wildly different interpretations, and that’s just not true,” he said.
Although The Carter Center’s humanitarian work is admirable, Ross wonders how helpful the former president is in reviving talks.
Despite the seemingly unbridgeable gap between Israelis and Palestinians, Carter he remains optimistic.
“The long-term prospects are not discouraging,” Carter said.
