Joan Peters

Joan Peters (née Friedman; April 29, 1936 – January 5, 2015), later Caro, was an American journalist and broadcaster. She wrote the 1984 book From Time Immemorial, a controversial book that incorrectly claimed that modern Palestinians were not indigenous to Palestine.<ref name="Haaretz20150108">Template:Cite news</ref>

Life

Peters was born in Chicago. She studied at the University of Illinois without earning a degree and became a freelance writer for publications like Harper's. She became "fascinated by the Middle East while covering the Yom Kippur War as a freelancer for CBS in 1973".<ref name="nyt2015">Template:Cite web</ref>

Her first marriage, to Gary Peters, ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to Stanley Kaplan, lasted until his death in 1991. She married William A. Caro in 1997 and went by the name Joan Caro.<ref name="nyt2015"/>

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Peters wrote for magazines such as Harper's, Commentary, The New Republic, and The New Leader, was a consultant in the creation of CBS news documentaries in 1973 about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and provided commentary on the subject for PBS.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her dedication to the cause of Israel may have been triggered by a visit in the 1970s to the Soviet Union, where officials treated her and her husband with suspicion.<ref name="Haaretz20150108" />

According to the Walker Agency, which booked speaking and touring engagements for her, Peters also served as an adviser to the White House on American foreign policy in the Middle East during the Carter administration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In From Time Immemorial (1984), she argued that Palestinians are largely not indigenous to modern Israel and therefore have no claim to its territory.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The book became controversial and its central claims were discredited by reputable scholars shortly after its publication.<ref name=":0">Template:Citation</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> Scholars and writers across the political spectrum criticized it,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> including Norman Finkelstein,<ref>Norman Finkelstein.Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict 2nd Edition. Verso Books, 2003 p.21-46</ref> Noam Chomsky,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Edward Said,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yehoshua Porath,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ian Gilmour, and David Gilmour.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Peters died at her home in Chicago in 2015 of a cerebral embolism.<ref name="NYTimes">Daniel E. Slotnik (January 12, 2015). "Joan Peters, Journalist Who Wrote on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Dies at 78" The New York Times. Accessed January 13, 2015</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Shortly before her death, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, telephoned to convey to her that Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was deeply grateful for her work.<ref name="Haaretz20150108" />

Awards

+ 1985: National Jewish Book Award in the Israel category for From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Peters's appearance on Zola Levitt Ministries: “From Time Immemorial” with Joan Peters, Part 1, August 11, 2002, and “From Time Immemorial” with Joan Peters, Part 2, August 18, 2002. Videos and transcripts
• Peters, Joan. From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine. New York, Harper & Row, 1984. At the Internet Archive
• Excerpts from From Time Immemorial produced by Joseph E. Katz, 2001
• Shragai, Nadav. The controversy of 'From Time Immemorial'. Israel Hayom, February 13, 2015',At the Wayback Machine
• Pipes, Daniel. From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine by Joan Peters. Review