In March 1977, Jimmy Carter made an unexpected remark that continues to reverberate to this day. "There has to be a homeland provided for the Palestinian refugees who have suffered for many, many years,” Mr Carter said at a Massachusetts town hall, two months into his presidency.
The former president, who was elected in 1976, died on Sunday, his family said. He was 100.
The comment was unprecedented for a US leader and caught his staff off guard, recalls William Quandt, who was on the White House National Security Council under Mr Carter and was his primary Middle East adviser from 1977 to 1979.
“He said that without anybody prompting him,” Mr Quandt told The National. “I think it had to do with a sense that there's a kind of injustice, that there is a party to this conflict that has no voice and nobody speaks for them.”
The next day, the headline of The Washington Post read: “A 'Homeland' for Palestinians Seen as a Noteworthy Shift of Language.”
That notion would become the foundation of the two-state solution, which is a cornerstone of long-term US policy for Israel and Palestine under President Joe Biden. The Biden administration says a credible pathway to a future Palestinian state is key to ending the Israel-Gaza war, which is by far the deadliest in the conflict's 76-year history.
Soon after the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, the Carter Centre defended Israel's right to defend itself but was quick to call for a ceasefire.
Jimmy Carter's life - in pictures
“Israeli forces moved into Gaza and intensified their devastating attacks. Israel, like all nations, has a right to defend itself; it also has the obligation of proportionality under international law. Violence will only beget more violence,” Mr Carter's organisation said.
Mr Carter never made much headway on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his single term in the Oval Office. His remarks on a Palestinian homeland, however, were decades before their time.
Instead of tackling Palestinian-Israeli relations, Mr Carter chose to pursue peace between Israel and Egypt. Mr Quandt believes that decision arose during a private meeting between Mr Carter and Egypt's then-president, Anwar Sadat, at Camp David. He remembers seeing Mr Carter's eyes light up as he began to formulate a way forward.
“I think this is the moment when Carter concluded that Sadat primarily cares about getting a bilateral agreement with Israel and maintaining a close relationship with the United States, and doesn't need much else in the way of covering for the Palestinians,” Mr Quandt recounted.
Shortly after that meeting, Mr Carter invited Israel's prime minister at the time, Menachem Begin, and Mr Sadat to Camp David, where over the course of several days, he brokered peace between Israel and Egypt, in an agreement that helped shape the region for decades to come.
“The peace treaty took a crucial bargaining chip off the table for Palestinians,” said Jeremy Pressman, director of Middle East Studies at the University of Connecticut. But he believes that despite this, Mr Carter moved the discussion on Palestinians forward.
“I think Carter even as president starts to break the rhetorical ice in United States discussion,” Mr Pressman told The National.
“He's clearly publicly, and definitely privately, more open to the possibility that Palestinians are not just a humanitarian refugee crisis – there's a political-national-territorial question there as well.”
Mr Carter, a deeply religious man who had the longest post-presidential career in US history, devoted much of his retirement to conquering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“I sensed it from time to time when I was with him,” said Mr Quandt. “He brought to this region a different sensitivity and that was as somebody who genuinely believed in the Bible, and the Holy Land, and the idea that he might make a contribution to peace in the Holy Land mattered to him.”
In his post-presidency years, he wrote several books on the region, including his seminal 2006 work Palestine: Peace not Apartheid, in which he criticised Israel for obstructing peace with its settlement activity in the West Bank.
Carter's legacy
Putting the word “apartheid” in the title, a term that has become a fairly common criticism of Israel, was hugely controversial in 2006 and he remains the only US president to have come close to suggesting that the situation could be viewed through such a lens.
“In the early 2000s, when Carter brought up the possible use of the term, I think it was sort of beyond the pale of the discussion,” explained Mr Pressman.
He said it is only in the past five or 10 years that the concept of apartheid – strenuously rejected by Israel – has come to form “part of the core of the public debate about the issue”.
Through words and deeds, Mr Carter remained devoted to the Palestinian people and the broader Middle East, leaving a lasting legacy in a region he cared deeply about.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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Runners up: Bahrain
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Fixtures
Friday
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5pm, Bahrain (6pm UAE time), Bahrain v Dubai Exiles
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3pm, The Sevens, Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Sports City Eagles
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UAE Premiership final
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner RB Money To Burn, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Kimbear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Platinum Star, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Key Victory, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
