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SADAT VISITS ISRAEL |
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SADAT VISITS ISRAEL |
Pres. Nasser of Egypt saw his prestige collapse from the debacle of the Six Day War in 1967. Egyptian forces were destroyed as the Israeli's swept through the Sinai to the Suez Canal, killing at least 3,000 soldiers. The devastation and loss of the Sinai oil fields threatened to bankrupt the Egyptian government. Arab internal hostilities and growing Palestinian nationalism strained Nasser's abilities. At age 52, he collapsed and died of a heart attack on September 29, 1970.
Anwar Sadat took over from Nassar and tried to interest Israel in peace proposals on his terms in 1971. Failure in that arena led to the surprise attack on Israel of the October 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Although the Arab strikes against Israel were not successful, the end of the Yom Kippur War led to intense diplomatic efforts to achieve a permanent peace in the region and to a renewed Arab interest in diplomatic, rather than armed, methods of making progress with Israel. In addition to the problems of the war itself, the deteriorating economy in Egypt, accompanied by a growing distance between rich and poor, led to internal strife, riots, strikes, attacks on the rich. These internal pressures raised the attention of the international community, particularly the United States, concerned that internal strife would weaken Sadat's moderate policies.
Convinced that peace with Israel would reap an enormous "peace dividend," Sadat initiated his most important diplomatic ploy. On Wednesday, November 9, 1977 Sadat told the People's Assembly, Egypt's parliament:
Then on Friday, November 11, Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin took up Sadat's offer and extended an invitation to the Egyptian leader in a message broadcast directly to the Egyptian people. Begin said:
Then followed a week of activity to formalize the invitation and the timing of a meeting, in an exchange of letters transmitted between Israel and Egypt by the US ambassadors in Tel Aviv and Cairo. Sadat and Begin then announced the Egyptian would arrive in Israel Saturday night, November 19th. Advance planes from Egypt were met in Israel by cheering crowds.
Sadat held talks in Damascus with Syrian President Hafez Assad in an unsuccessful attempt to win Syrian support for the mission the Egyptian called his "sacred duty." Syria was unmoved. Violent Arab opposition to the trip erupted with a pair of explosions at the Egyptian Embassy in Damascus.
On Saturday, November 19 Sadat's jet -- Egyptian One -- brought Anwar Sadat to Israel. He was greeted by the blare of trumpets and a 21-gun salute in a formal airport welcome by Begin, Israeli President Ephraim Katzir and many past and present Israeli leaders. Sadat drove to Jerusalem with Katzir and met briefly with Begin at the King David Hotel, his base for the 36-hour visit. On Sunday, Sadat prayed at the Al Aqsa Mosque and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial with Begin.
That afternoon, Sadat mounted rostrum of the Knesset and speaking forcefully in Arabic he called his visit an "important juncture in the history of the world." As expected, Sadat restated Arab demands including Israeli withdrawal from war-won lands and a permanent home for the Palestinians. But then he declared:
Begin, following Sadat to the rostrum, called on Arab leaders to open peace negotiations and declared:
The Israeli also hailed the courage shown by his old foe in coming to Israel:
Sadat was named "Man of the Year for 1977" by Time Magazine.
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