Movie Review: Jimmy Carter Man From Plains (2007)

The film is a documentary of his book tour for "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid". I cant remember ever feeling so good about America, how we're viewed around the world, and really feeling proud of what our President does in the Middle East. It was a strange feeling and a stark contrast to our current president saying Israel should be a model for Iraq. His responses to some of the nearly impossible questions he was asked were simple, clear and educational.

The film's main topic is the controversy that has followed the books release. Opponents of the book especially take offense to the word "Apartheid" in the title and respond with character attacks on Carter calling him anti-semetic, racist, a liar, anti-Israeli etc. If his goal is peace, and the Israelis also want peace, doesn't that put them on the same side? Carter makes it quite clear throughout the film that he wants Peace in Israel. In fact, calling for peace is also in the title of his book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid". In the film, and supposedly in the book, he says the way to get peace is for Israel to withdraw its occupation and settlements. Its part of a fairly simple perspective that REALLY has some people upset. Here is the trailer:

What really gets me though, and Carter expresses his frustration with this in the film, is how antagonistic some people are against his recommendations for peace. Here's a full page New York Times ad from the Anti-Defamation League.
If these people actually want peace, rather than discredit the book and the author, they should engage in the debate. Do they really think things like a highway on Palestinian land connecting two Israeli settlements or laws that sentence any Palestinian riding in a Jewish car on it to 5 years in prison help bring about peace?? Nevermind the Apartheid, that sounds a bit like Nazi Germany!

If people really want to support these things, explain why. Don't attack the person who brought up the conversation. Sadly, I suspect many of the people who angry with Carter, in particular those who object to his use of the word "Apartheid" in the books title, don't realize how bad the occupation really is.

I suspect Carter got the idea for his book's title from a piece in the Ha'aretz from 2001 on Raymond Louw. At 74, Raymond Louw, visited the West Bank. He was the editor-in-chief of a South African newspaper, the Daily Rand, covering their apartheid for 11 years. He knows the situation in South Africa as well as just about anyone. After his visit to various towns in the West Bank, his opinion was that the Israeli occupation is WORSE than the apartheid. Obviously, the point is not to downplay the apartheid in South Africa, its to emphasize how bad the occupation really is. “It’s depressing. This is a city [Avraham Avinu area] under military occupation without any rights for the occupied. There was never a situation like this with apartheid [in South Africa]. The control in the black areas was not so forceful. I don’t think you can compare the two situations. Under apartheid, there was a recognition that the blacks would continue to live in these areas. Here the impression is that the objective is to push the Palestinians out.”

The film shows Jimmy Carter being confronted by these forces. I assume and hope that the people who denounce Carter are naïve about the atrocities of the Israeli Apartheid and not actually supportive of them. He sets a great example of dealing with these people in a civil way thats simple and clear.

I recommend the film for anyone who wishes they had time to read the book. I would like to read the book, but after the film, I feel like I have.

I am currently reading "The Israel Lobby and American Foreign Policy". I'll write my next review on it. In short, its amazing.