Call Me Back - with Dan Senor

What Happened to Jimmy Carter? - with Ken Stein

Jan 10, 2025

Ken Stein, a close confidante of Jimmy Carter and a former director of the Carter Center, discusses Carter's complex legacy in the Middle East. They delve into Carter's game-changing support for a Palestinian state and his role in the Camp David Accords. Stein reveals how Carter's initial peace efforts transitioned into controversial stances that embraced Hamas's narrative. The conversation also highlights the challenges of Middle Eastern diplomacy and the paradoxes in Carter's foreign policy, offering insights into how history shapes current events.

52:17

Creator website

Episode guests

Ken Stein

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Carter's personal diplomacy and hands-on approach were crucial in achieving the enduring Camp David Accords, showcasing the power of direct negotiation.

His controversial post-presidential stance on Israel and Hamas reflected a deep frustration with the lack of progress in the Middle East conflicts.

Deep dives

Carter's Passion for Peace Mediation

Jimmy Carter was deeply passionate about mediating peace in the Middle East, driven by his belief that he could make a significant difference in resolving the long-standing conflicts. He often expressed frustration at being sidelined after losing the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan, lamenting that if only he had another chance, he could successfully guide negotiations between the involved parties. His experiences as a biblical scholar and his upbringing in a racially segregated South influenced his worldview, aligning his understanding of conflict resolution with the complexities of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. Despite lacking extensive foreign policy experience, Carter approached international diplomacy with the conviction that he possessed the negotiation skills necessary to bring peace to this tumultuous region.

Intro

3min

Carter's Middle East Legacy

12min

Carter's Bold Move: A New Era in Middle Eastern Diplomacy

19min

Carter's Crisis & Diplomacy: Lessons from the Iran Hostage Crisis

9min

Historical Context of Middle East Peace Negotiations

2min

Controversial Perspectives on Peace and Terrorism

2min

Legacy and Recognition: Navigating Middle Eastern Diplomacy

6min

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcast

To contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: https://arkmedia.org/

Dan on X: https://x.com/dansenor

Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dansenor

Yesterday in Washington D.C., former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service was held at the National Cathedral.

The former president’s post-presidential legacy has had a lasting impact on today’s Middle East. President Carter was known for brokering the Egypt-Israel peace treaty between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, which has lasted over four decades. However, he was also the first national leader of his stature to openly embrace Hamas, to accuse Israel of “apartheid”, and to legitimize Hamas’s slaughtering of Jews through suicide bombings and other forms of terrorism, during and following the Second Intifada.

How did President Carter go from an engaged diplomat working for peace between Israel and Egypt to championing Hamas and its narrative of Israeli “apartheid”?

To discuss the paradox of President Carter when it comes to Israel, and his impact on current day events in the Middle East, our guest is Ken Stein.

Dr. Kenneth W. Stein is Emeritus Emory Professor of Middle Eastern History and Israel studies where he taught from 1977-2024. Early in the 1980s, he led the Middle East Program of the Carter Center, which included multiple trips to the region with the Carters, writing a book with him, and providing monthly analyses to the former president. In 1998, Ken established the first Israel Studies Center in North America and founded the Center for Israel Education in 2008.

Pertinent to this interview, are his 1999 publication, Heroic Diplomacy: Sadat, Kissinger, Carter, Begin and the Quest for Arab-0Israeli Peace and a personal collection of the hundreds of hours of conversations he had with Carter over a twenty year span. He is also the author with Ambassador Samuel Lewis, “Making Peace Among Arabs and Israelis: Lessons from Fifty Years of Negotiating Experience”, https://www.amazon.com/Making-peace-among-Arabs-Israelis/dp/B002X78MGW [amazon.com]

Book discussed in this episode: https://tinyurl.com/4h7pmwzf

Recent article by Ken Stein: https://m.jpost.com/international/article-835320