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As Middle East historian, Ken Stein discusses in intimate detail the 1977-1979 Egyptian-Israeli negotiations. He touches on the fall of the Shah of Iran, his work of the Carter Center, Carter’s growing negative views toward Israel, his embrace of Hamas, and the impact of Carter’s controversial anti-Israeli 2006 book “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.”

January 10, 2025 By Dr. Kenneth Stein, Emeritus Professor, Emory University As the 39th president of the United States, James Earl Carter held office from 1977 to 1981. Carter was the longest-surviving former president in American history. He was the only U.S. president elected from Georgia. How his presidency and post-presidential life are evaluated remains dependent […]

In this animated white board video, we explore Jimmy Carter’s efforts at achieving peace in the Middle East. Beginning with the origins and formulation of Carter’s foreign policy as he prepared to run for President in 1976, the video emphasizes the influence of Zbigniew Brzezinski on Carter’s evolving Middle East policies. These included appeasing Arab countries, embracing Egypt’s Anwar Sadat as he turned away from the Soviet Union, and emphasizing Palestinian rights. It covers the fraying US-Israeli relationship through the end of the Carter administration.

Jimmy Carter, “The US- Iran relationship, the Shah’s downfall, Khomeyni’s rise to power, and the Hostage Crisis,” an Emory class presentation, Atlanta, Georgia, March 24, 1985, recorded and transcribed with permission.

Our second animated white board video covers in detail what took place during the thirteen days of negotiations at Camp David in September 2018. The video begins with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s priority on getting back the Sinai Peninsula which Egypt lost to Israel in the June 1967 War and the origins of direct negotiations between Israel and Egypt following Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem in November 1977.

Musa Alami, “The Lesson of Palestine,” Middle East Journal, October 1949, reprinted with permission Volume 3, No. 4, October 1949, pp. 373-405 Reprinted with permission of The Middle East Institute, October 2021 In this 1949 article published in Middle East Journal, Musa Alami, a noted and highly respected Palestinian Arab leader during the first half […]

Assembled by Scott Abramson and Ken Stein, Center for Israel Education Kaasra Aarabi, “I Spoke to Khamenei’s Foot Soldiers. He Is in Trouble,” The Jewish Chronicle, December 19, 2024, https://www.thejc.com/lets-talk/i-spoke-to-khameneis-footsoldiers-he-is-in-trouble-uowe2t5a Ofra Bengio, “Vindicating The Poisoned Chalice: Iran’s Creeping Invasion of Iraq,” Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, December 15, 2024, https://dayan.org/content/vindicating-poisoned-chalice-irans-creeping-invasion-iraq Avishay […]

Negotiated through the Norwegians, the Accords call for limited Palestinian rule in some of the territories; it did not call for a Palestinian state or an end to settlements.

In September 2023, thirty years after the historic signing of the Oslo Accords, there is occasion to review Prime Minister Rabin’s understanding of them. I assembled this collection years ago from Daily Reports- Near East and South Asia, 1993-1995. Two short items about Rabin’s views are also found or linked here. Rabin provided a summary of his views of the Accords in a Knesset speech in October 5, 1995. Some of Rabin’s reasons for signing the Accords are also provided in Yehuda Avner’s The Prime Ministers.

Ken Stein, October 28, 2024 When Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter became the 39th President of the United States in 1977, he had little foreign policy experience, particularly regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict. Despite this, he prioritized Middle East peace upon taking office. Carter’s approach diverged from his predecessors’ step-by-step diplomacy, favoring a comprehensive solution. Influenced by […]

Hamilton Jordan, Carter’s chief political adviser, warned the president to halt the administration’s anti-Israeli actions. Nonetheless, they continued to diminish Carter’s support among American Jews through the 1980 re-election campaign.

Former US President Jimmy Carter embraced Hamas as a legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. His motivations possibly stretched from intentional to misguided to malevolent. Hamas leaders who were engaged in inter-Palestinian struggles remained pleased with the recognition he gave them. American officials and Israelis were keenly perturbed by the courtship he gave them.

January 6, 2025 CIE President Ken Stein is interviewed about Jimmy Carter by Foundation for Defense of Democracies Executive Director Jonathan Schanzer on the “FDD Morning Brief” on January 6, 2025. Jonathan Schanzer: It’s now time for my conversation with Professor Ken Stein. I’m proud to call Ken a friend and a mentor, although if […]

January 6, 2025 CIE President Ken Stein addressed “Jimmy Carter’s Middle East Legacies” during a webinar hosted by Scholars for Peace in the Middle East in cooperation with the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa on January 6, 2025. Dr. Stein took audience questions from moderator Asaf Romirowsky, the executive director […]

Ken Stein discusses Jimmy Carter’s Camp David success with WSB radio’s Scott Slade in an interview that aired shortly before Carter’s state funeral.

“Bendeciré a los que te bendigan, y maldeciré a los que te maldigan.” –Génesis 12:3 (versículo comúnmente invocado por los evangélicos en apoyo de Israel) En 1917, el general Edmund Allenby recibió el mando de las fuerzas británicas en Oriente Medio y la orden de conducirlas a la victoria sobre el Imperio otomano. Pero, cuando […]

First published at Fathom Journal: https://fathomjournal.org/fathom-long-read-islamophobia-and-antisemitism-a-false-equivalence/ This essay is a rebuttal of the increasingly common comparison between antisemitism and Islamophobia, refuting it on five grounds in particular:  Fathom Long Read | Islamophobia and Antisemitism: A False Equivalence Introduction A trend in Western discourse has developed in the past few years, observable in full vigour since […]

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse.” — Genesis 12:3 (verse commonly invoked by Evangelicals in support of Israel) In 1917, General Edmund Allenby was given both command over British forces in the Middle East and an order to lead them to victory over the Ottoman […]

O período do novo Yishuv durou desde os últimos 40 anos do governo otomano na Palestina, perdurando ao longo Mandato Britânico até o estabelecimento de Israel em 1948. Neste período, houve um crescimento da comunidade judaica, passando de 24 mil pessoas em 1882 para aproximadamente 650 mil em maio de 1948, enquanto a população árabe […]

Desde os tempos bíblicos até hoje, os judeus e o judaísmo têm uma ligação ininterrupta com o Sião, uma referência à Eretz Israel, a Terra de Israel, proveniente da colina no coração de Jerusalém. O sionismo foi e permanece sendo a meta judaica para ter e manter um Estado judeu na antiga terra dos judeus. […]

Hafez Ismail was a close adviser of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Ismail carried out secret negotiations with Henry Kissinger before the 1973 war to see if the US would quietly start talks with the Israelis. Kissinger said no. Ismail provides notable insights into Sadat’s sophisticated decision-making.

Compiled by Aidan New Iran’s development of a nuclear weapons program began in the late 1990s, accelerate in the early 2000s, and has remained a focal point for regional tension and international sanctions. It is a prime concern for Israel and the United States. Israel is believed to have made covert efforts to hinder Iran’s […]

This meeting between President Carter and Syrian President Assad was the only one they had during the Carter presidency. Carter wanted to learn what Assad’s requirements were for an agreement with Israel: borders, security, nature of peace, and willingness of other Arabs join. Assad doubted that the Saudis would join this process. When the conversation was finished, Assad made it clear that he was not rushing into an agreement with Israel, even if asked by the United States. Carter acknowledged to Assad that he knew little about the Palestinian refugee issue. Carter did tell Assad that the US was committed to the security of Israel. Assad did not say that the Soviet Union’s participation at a conference was necessary, in fact Assad noted how difficult his relations were with Moscow in the immediate past; Assad did tell Carter that it was Secretary of State Vance who first raised the possibility of Moscow attending such a peace conference. From American diplomatic sources we learn that Assad was very pleased to have been squired by Carter. For their part, the Israelis were deeply anxious about Carter’s positive statements about Assad made after this meeting.

En el Oriente Medio, las actitudes hostiles hacia los judíos, el sionismo e Israel como Estado se entremezclan con el reconocimiento de Israel como Estado por parte de los Estados árabes y la OLP. Para la mayoría de los pueblos de Oriente Medio, incluidos Irán y Turquía, Israel es un país que desde hace casi un siglo o bien es detestado, apenas tolerado, moderadamente aceptado, reconocido, con el que se colabora y odiado vigorosamente. Estas opiniones sobre Israel conviven regularmente.

Assembled by Scott Abramson and Ken Stein, Center for Israel Education Elliott Abrams, “Australia, New Zealand, and Israel: Elections Have (Good and Bad) Consequences,” Council on Foreign Relations, November 22, 2024, https://www.cfr.org/blog/australia-new-zealand-and-israel-elections-have-good-and-bad-consequences Scott Abramson, “Islamophobia and Antisemitism: A False Equivalence,” Fathom Journal, November 2024, https://fathomjournal.org/fathom-long-read-islamophobia-and-antisemitism-a-false-equivalence/ Amatzia Baram, “A Plan to End the Israel-Hezbollah War,” Middle […]

Un cartel del Fondo Nacional Judío del período del Nuevo Yishuv. El período del Nuevo Yishuv duró desde los últimos 40 años del gobierno otomano en Palestina, pasando por el Mandato Británico, hasta el establecimiento de Israel en 1948. En él, la comunidad judía creció de 24.000 personas en 1882 a unas 650.000 en mayo […]

Desde los tiempos bíblicos hasta el presente, los judíos y el judaísmo han tenido una conexión ininterrumpida con Sión, una referencia a Eretz Israel, la Tierra de Israel, derivada de la colina en el corazón de Jerusalén. El sionismo fue y sigue siendo la búsqueda judía de tener y mantener un estado judío en la […]

It is now apparent that distances between the Carter administration and Israel did not begin in earnest after Begin’s May 1977 election or over the settlements. Newly available materials show that from its outset, the Carter administration prioritized curbing Israeli influence in Washington.

Wstęp Znana jako Wojna Izraela o Niepodległość lub “nakbah” – katastrofa – w świecie arabskim, w związku z ustanowieniem państwa żydowskiego, wojna ta toczyła się pomiędzy nowopowstałym państwem żydowskim Izrael a nieregularnymi oddziałami palestyńskimi oraz armiami pięciu krajów arabskich. Za oficjalny początek wojny przyjmuje się datę 14 maja 1948 r., czyli dzień, w którym Izrael […]