Dr. Kenneth W. Stein, [Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History, Political Science, and Israeli Studies]:
“For the record, I had nothing to do with the research, preparation, writing, or review of President Carter’s recent publication. Any material which he used from the book we did together in 1984, The Blood of Abraham, he used unilaterally. President Carter’s book on the Middle East, a title too inflammatory to even print, is not based on unvarnished analyses; it is replete with factual errors, copied materials not cited, superficialities, glaring omissions, and simply invented segments. Aside from the one-sided nature of the book, meant to provoke, there are recollections cited from meetings where I was the third person in the room, and my notes of those meetings show little similarity to points claimed in the book.
Being a former President does not give one a unique privilege to invent information or to unpack it with cuts, deftly slanted to provide a particular outlook. Having little access to Arabic (Like revisionist Benny Morris KGS’s observation) and Hebrew sources, I believe, clearly handicapped his understanding and analyses of how history has unfolded over the last decade.
Falsehoods, if repeated often enough become meta-truths, and they then can become the erroneous baseline for shaping and reinforcing attitudes and for policy-making. The history and interpretation of the Arab-Israeli conflict is already drowning in half-truths, suppositions, and self-serving myths; more are not necessary. In due course, I shall detail these points and reflect on their origins.”
Read Stein’s letter here
I can’t but help notice the glaring similarities between (the apparently) shoddy workmanship of the Carter book, and Finland’s University of Helsinki Lecturer, Hannu Juusola’s book “Israel’s History”. Juusola’s exclusive use of revisionist “scholarship” that helps bend historical fact to a particular ideological Leftist liking, (while disingenuously hiding behind a veneer of impartiality) is as disturbing as it is farcical. It wouldn’t surprise me though, if Juusola (and the Finnish Academy) gives the new Carter book a raving review, seeing that they share a
preponderance for mediocrity and anti-Israel bias. KGS
Note: Special thanks to Debbie Schlussel for the new cover to the Carter book.
