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Jimmy Carter generated just as much buzz as Hollywood hearthtrobs George Clooney and Brad Pitt at the opening night of the Toronto Film Festival.
He was appearing in support of a Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs", "Philadelphia") directed documentary, Man From Plains which stars Carter and covers his book tour for the controversial book Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid and also explores his post-presidential life during which he's been widely praised for building homes for the poor and for being a tireless advocate for peace.
From the AP:
Taking part in the film festival's first geo-political talk, taped for television, Carter called for Washington to hold "direct talks" with Iran, laid out his vision for Mideast peace and lamented the "unwarranted and unprecedented" religious fundamentalism that has crept into US politics.
In a stinging attack on US President George W. Bush and his Christian supporters, he said: "I worship Christ who was the prince of peace, not pre-emptive war."
"A superpower like the United States should use all of its resources ... to promote peace," he said.
Talking about his book, Carter said: "I hope it will precipitate attempting to find peace in the Holy Land."
"It's one of the most important political issues in the world, because a lot of the animosity (in the world) is centered around what's happening to bring peace or not bring peace in (Israel-Palestine)."
"There hasn't been one single day of peace talks in the last seven years," he complained.
Carter when on to talk about what motivated him to write Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid:
"I became very frustrated to see the stagnation there and the animosity building up around the world against my own nation just because we had not tried to bring peace to Israel and its (surrounding) states," he said, explaining his inspiration for the book.
"I was amazed and almost nauseated to see the encroachment by Israel on Palestinian land and the persecution of the Palestinians," he said, citing 205 fortified Jewish settlements in "choice places" in the West Bank.
Carter and his wife Rosalynn had visited the Palestinian territories on three occasions in recent years. Rosalynn commented that the wall built by Israel to separate the two sides, but condemned internationally, was "shocking."
"I would like to see good faith talks begin between the Israelis and Palestinians to bring peace and justice (for both)," said Carter, who spearheaded the first Mideast peace talks at Camp David in 1978.
The film is due out in October. According to the AP, Carter and his wife recieved two standing ovations from Toronto audiences before the movie even debuted. Director Demme says:
"In the last year or so, I've spent more time with Jonathan than I have with Rosalynn," Carter told the audience. "He followed me around and we became close friends, and I learned to admire his abilities as a director. I've seen the film. It is, because of him, outstanding, not because of the leading actor in it."
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