President Jimmy Carter, who championed Middle East peace and became a critic of Israel, dies at 100

Former President Jimmy Carter, who negotiated the Camp David Accords and the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt but had a complex relationship with Israel during his years after the White House, has died Sunday at 100 years old.

A state legislator and naval officer who later served a term as governor of Georgia, Carter had not held federal office until his narrow victory against President Gerald Ford in 1976. Carter’s administration was marked by high inflation and energy shortages at home, as well as growing instability abroad. .

In September 1978, Carter summoned Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Camp David in Maryland for nearly two weeks of secret talks that would result in a peace treaty between the two countries the following year. Begin and Sadat jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 for what became known as the Camp David Accords.

Carter served one term before losing the 1980 election to then-California Governor Ronald Reagan. The Georgia Democrat’s final 15 months in office were marked by the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the subsequent Iran hostage crisis, during which more than 50 Americans — most of them embassy employees — were taken hostage by Iranian students who were trying to overthrow the government in Tehran. Some hostages were released in November 1979; the remaining 52 were held for an additional 14 months and released within minutes of Reagan’s swearing-in on January 20, 1981.

During his post-White House years, Carter was increasingly critical of Israel. He wrote dozens of books after leaving office, including, in 2006, Palestine: peace, not apartheidwhich drew criticism for its characterization of Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza. Three years later, he encounter Senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in the Gaza Strip during a trip to the region.

After news of his death broke, officials and leaders of the organization released a memoir focusing on Carter’s efforts to broker peace between Jerusalem and Cairo – downplaying disagreements between Carter and the pro-Israel community.

Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement praising “President Carter’s role in crafting the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, a peace treaty that has been in force for nearly half a century and offers hope to future generations.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Carter is a “courageous leader” whose “legacy will be defined by his deep commitment to forging peace among nations.”

“In recent years, I have had the pleasure of calling and thanking him for his historic efforts to bring two great leaders, Begin and Sadat, together and forge a peace between Israel and Egypt that remains an anchor of stability throughout the Middle East and North Africa. several decades later,” Herzog said.

In a press release, AIPAC said that Carter’s “historic efforts successfully contributed to reconciliation between former adversaries,” calling his leadership “instrumental in establishing the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.” The American Jewish Committee rented Carter highlighted Carter’s “key role” in the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement, while emphasizing “some deep disagreements with President Carter on the Middle East, particularly in the decades following his departure from the White House.”

J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami called Carter “one of (his) political heroes” whose “moral clarity will stand the test of time,” adding: “Considering the role of states -United in the quest for peace in the Middle East, Perhaps no figure in recent American history deserves a more prominent place than President Carter.

David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, who served as deputy domestic policy advisor in the Carter administration, said the former president “served his country remarkably well as a naval officer, president, global citizen, and defender of human dignity, racial and gender equality, and democratic values.” We won’t see another like him for generations, if ever.