The visit by former president Jimmy Carter to the University of California-Berkeley campus drew controversy as well as very long lines. Some 1,450 passes to the event were distributed in just four hours, following a day-long line that stretched out into a campus plaza. Another 150 passes were awarded to faculty members based on a lottery system.

At the actual event, demonstrators with a variety of viewpoints and issues convened outside Zellerbach Hall, where Carter spoke. Jewish groups on campus raised an Israeli flag and passed out flyers with questions for attendees to ask the former president. Others rallied in support of Carter, including a woman who linked her support to her Jewish identity. Still others were there to protest labor disputes with the university.

“In our letter of invitation we explicitly stated that we did not want this to become a politically divisive event,” [UC-Berkeley senior Aidan] Ali-Sullivan said. “People like contentious issues and I think that’s healthy—him coming to campus is going to present an opportunity for some healthy dialogue.”

But for the many community and student groups gathered together before the event, flyers, pamphlets and picket signs expressed nuanced and divergent views on topics ranging from Iran to labor rights.

Members of the Jewish Student Union, Israel Action Committee and Berkeley Hillel held an Israeli flag and handed out flyers listing some questions for audience members to ask during the question and answer period.

Group members said Carter’s book “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid” fails to create a dialogue on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“People are hurt because they feel as if dialogue cannot come of this,” said Jewish Student Union president Lev Ingman. “If you actually represent both sides of the issue, then it’s a dialogue.”

Oakland resident Jane Courant, who held a poster that said “Jimmy Carter Represents Jewish Views”, said Carter’s book fairly described the conflict, but understood some students’ objections.

“Nothing in Carter’s book was inappropriate, but I could see how the word ‘apartheid’ was objectionable,” she said. “But I think he’s just speaking the truth about how people are living.”

Despite the number of interest groups with divergent views of Carter’s book, the increased police presence was ultimately unneeded, police said.

During the actual event, Carter spoke at length on his book and admitted to a desire to be provocative with the title.

“I can’t deny that (I wanted) to use a title that was provocative,” he said. “It has opened up a great level of discussion in our country that wouldn’t ordinarily have existed.”

Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, spoke about how his personal experiences in Israel and Palestine since his time as Georgia’s governor shaped his views.

“I did all I could, and I left office believing that Israel would soon realize the dream of peace with its neighbors,” he said.

But Carter said the breakdown in peace talks has been dangerous and that United States leaders have become too blindly supportive of Israel.