Carter: Criticism has put focus on Israeli policy

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Former President Jimmy Carter says the criticism aimed at his latest book is a sign that its take on Israeli policy is generating more interest in the plight of the Palestinians. Carter said Monday he expected the backlash against his top-selling book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid." The book has been criticized by pro-Israel groups, attacked by fellow Democrats and led to the resignation last week of Kenneth Stein, a Carter Center fellow and a longtime Carter adviser. "The premise of this country concerning what's going on in Palestine is so deeply ingrained, so deeply rooted that it's not surprising to me that any contradiction of that has aroused a strong reaction," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Part of the reason, he said, is that Americans often see no counterbalance to pro-Israeli viewpoints in the news media.