The former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner acknowledged to an audience at Brandeis University that "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid" has "caused great concern in the Jewish community," but noted that it has nonetheless prompted discussion.
The uproar of several months recently prompted 14 members of an advisory board at Carter's international-affairs think tank, the Carter Center, to resign in protest.
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Carter briefly addressed students and faculty members and responded to 15 questions selected in advance. He responded to criticism and discussed his efforts during his presidency for peace in the Middle East.
"With my use of 'apartheid,' I realize this has caused great concern in the Jewish community. The title makes it clear," Carter said.
"I can certainly see now it would provoke some harsh feelings. I chose that title knowing that it would be provocative, but in the long run it has precipitated discussion and there has been a lot of positive discussion."
He said the book is about conditions in Palestinian territory, not Israel, and urged Brandeis to send a delegation to the occupied areas to see for themselves.
"It would have a great impact on this nation, on members of Congress and on the nation of Israel," he said.
In his speech, Carter said: "Israel will never find peace until it is willing to withdraw from the terrorities, and permit the Palestinians to exercise their basic human rights. The current policy is leading to an immoral outcome that is undermining Israel's standing in the world."
Carter received standing ovations at the beginning and end of his remarks.
Dershowitz had hoped to debate Carter but was told he would not be allowed inside. He was invited to speak in the same hall after Carter, and told the audience he and Carter are both "pro-Israel and pro-Palestine."
"Had he written a book that was similar to what he said from this stage, I do not believe there would have been much controversy," he said.
Dershowitz said that he also favors an end to Israeli occupation and settlements in the territories, but that Carter does not talk about the opportunities Palestinians have passed up to have their own state, rejecting previous peace deals.
"President Carter makes it sound so simple," he said. "I'm afraid those simplifications are not really conducive to an enduring peace."
Metal barricades were erected along the road leading to the athletic center, where Carter spoke, and people entering the place had to go through a metal detector.
About 60 peaceful demonstrators gathered. Many carried signs with a pro-Palestinian view. Among them: "Closing our eyes to injustice is not a Jewish value" and "Support Jimmy Carter. End the occupation now."
A smaller number of demonstrators passed out leaflets pointing out five portions of Carter's book that they say contained falsehoods.
Brandeis, in the Boston suburb of Waltham, is a secular university founded by American Jewish leaders, and about half of its 5,300 students are Jewish. The school is named after Louis Brandeis, the first Jew on the Supreme Court and a robust defender of the right to free speech.
Carter's book has been criticized by some Jewish leaders as riddled with inaccuracies and distortions. Some have complained that it appears to equate South Africa's former apartheid system of racial segregation with Israeli treatment of the Palestinians.
Carter brokered the 1978 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt and won the Peace Prize in 2002.
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