A provocative case — Unterberg et al. v. Jimmy Carter et al. — is under way against former president Carter for his analysis (if that is the right word) of the Israel-Palestine crisis, Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid. The Washington Post reports that five dissatisfied customers, to put it mildly, have filed a class-action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against Carter and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, alleging that the 2006 book ought to have been classified as a work of fiction. So long as it enjoys status as nonfiction, however, its “numerous false and knowingly misleading statements” can only be pressed into the service of “the author’s agenda of anti-Israel propaganda.” The plaintiffs hold that this effort constitutes willful deception of “the reading public instead of presenting accurate information as advertised.” As a result of this alleged violation of New York consumer-protection laws, they are seeking at least $5 million in restitution. No response has been forthcoming from the former president.
Correction: This post originally carried the title “President Carter Officially Charged with Fraud.” The mistake has since been changed. The fault is my own.