Oh, the irony. In the Middle East, which birthed three of the world’s greatest religions — Judaism, Christianity and the Islamic faith — there had not been peace for 30 years. And then, in 1978, two leaders from key nations in that war-torn region, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin, signed the Camp David Accords.
The Accords were so named because the negotiations leading up to them took place at Camp David, Md., the retreat used by every American president since Dwight Eisenhower. Then-President Jimmy Carter had invited Sadat and Begin to Camp David in the hope that, with his help, they could agree to end three decades of war between Israel and its most powerful, most antagonistic Arab neighbor.
Carter’s invitation had not come out of the blue.
In 1978, in a move that had stunned the world, Sadat became the first Arab leader ever to journey to Jerusalem to speak before Israel’s Parliament.
In his speech, Sadat offered peace to the Jewish state under certain conditions, one of which was the return of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the 23,000 square-mile territory that Israel had captured in the Six-Day War of 1967.
Sadat also wanted peace because constantly fighting Israel had ruined Egypt’s economy and stunted modernization.
It was true that Sadat had led the 1973 attack on Israel during the Yom Kippur Jewish holiday — an attack that caught Israel completely by surprise before it recovered and drove invading Arab armies back — but Sadat had launched that war more as a bargaining chip than as a final victory. As Sadat had hoped, his army acquitted itself well in that war, enhancing both his prestige in the Arab world and his negotiating position with Israel. He believed that it was a propitious moment for a peace overture to Israel.
He was right. Shaken by the Yom Kippur War, Israel was receptive to a genuine peace, so at Camp David, after 12 days of intense, often acrimonious negotiations, Sadat and Begin agreed to Israel’s complete evacuation from the Sinai in return for a peace treaty and a pledge to negotiate Palestinian autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.
It was among the most historic events of the 20th Century and easily earned Begin and Sadat the Nobel Peace Prize, which they won this week (Oct. 26) in 1978. Alas, it cost Sadat his life – in 1981 he was assassinated by Islamic extremists angered at his agreement with Israel.
But through it all, the peace – cold though it may be – between Egypt and Israel has held, which should serve as a reminder, and rejoinder, to those who say there can never be a peace in the Middle East. There can be, because there has been.
Bruce G. Kauffmann’s e-mail address is bruce@
historylessons.net.
Schools
BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSONS: Leaders sign Camp David Accords
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Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
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Official: Indiana among first 10 states to get ed waiver
President Barack Obama today will free 10 states from the strict and sweeping requirements of the No Child Left Behind law, giving leeway to states that promise to improve how they prepare and evaluate students, The Associated Press has learned.
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Letters from Debs
Cinda May sat with the phone to her ear listening as the auctioneer in New York City said “Holding, holding.”
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ISU presents Sycamore Hoopla; activities kick off Friday
Indiana State University’s Hulman Center will host its sixth annual Sycamore Hoopla Friday and Saturday.
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: This little-known compromise may have saved the union
When the Constitution was signed in September of 1787 and sent to the Congress that then existed under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was instructed to send that Constitution to the states to be ratified … or not. The message to the states was clear: Accept the Constitution or reject it, but don’t try to change it.
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College plans Prom Expo on Feb. 19
Get the scoop on the latest in prom fashions and services during Lincoln Trail College’s Prom Expo Feb. 19.
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ISU offering tech ed scholarships to VU grads
Indiana State University is offering $1,000 scholarships for graduates of Vincennes University’s technology programs to pursue their bachelor’s degree.
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Fort Harrison State Park to host winter wildlife workshop
Our culture’s most celebrated survivalists are often men with an accent, a trusty knife, and a tagalong camera crew filming their every move.
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Riverton Parke's winter king and queen
Seniors Gary Secuskie and Taylor Mansinne were named King and Queen of the Riverton Parke Winter 2012 Homecoming.
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Four alumni receive GOLD awards from Indiana State University
A former collegiate football standout and a trio known for selling humorous holiday apparel received the Indiana State University Alumni Association’s Graduate of the Last Decade Award this year.
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Indiana State students hear view from Cuba
Carlos Alzugaray, who spent 40 years representing the Cuban government around the world, wishes NBC newsman Brian Williams had asked a different question during a recent Republican presidential debate in Jacksonville, Fla.
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College to celebrate homecoming
Lincoln Trail College will celebrate homecoming on Feb. 18.
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Valley middle schoolers ready for MATHCOUNTS
Weeks of early-morning and after-school problem-solving sessions for about 100 Wabash Valley middle school students will culminate on Saturday in the regional MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
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Indiana State education major takes teaching to Siberia
Christin Keirn wanted a challenge and she does enjoy winter. So for her, it seemed an obvious choice.
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Lincoln Trail College honors
Lincoln Trail College has released its academic honor lists for the Fall 2011 semester.
- ACROSS THE WABASH VALLEY: Feb. 9, 2012
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Vigo schools see grad rate rise
The Vigo County School Corp. 2011 graduation rate improved nearly 4 percentage points and surpassed the state graduation rate, according to information from the state Department of Education.
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Rose-Hulman to help address need for advancing railroad technologies
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is stepping back into its past and addressing a need to advance the nation’s transportation system by educating the next generation of railroad engineers.
Chauncey Rose, an entrepreneur and builder of railroads, came to western Indiana in 1817. -
Take the Plunge for Special Olympics on Feb. 11 at ISU
Join Mayor Duke Bennett, Indiana State University Police Chief Bill Mercier, Terre Haute and ISU Police departments, GFS Marketplace, Mix-FM, the men of Pi Kappa Alpha and the ladies of Alpha Sigma Alpha at the Fourth Annual Terre Haute Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Indiana on Feb. 11.
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Valley woman’s recipe featured by Taste of Home
Taste of Home magazine has honored a Riverton Parke Jr.-Sr. High School Foods Services employee for her recipe.
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College Goal Sunday set for Feb. 12 at Ivy Tech
Financial aid professionals will be volunteering at Ivy Tech Community College in Terre Haute and 39 other Indiana sites to help college-bound students and their families open the door to financial aid during College Goal Sunday, set for 2 p.m. Feb. 12.
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College to offer aeronautics classes at Robinson airport
Lincoln Trail College is flying high this spring with two aeronautics classes taught at the Robinson (Ill.) Community Airport.
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Agreement to further college’s international initiatives
Harrison College, a private sector college serving 6,000 students at 12 campuses in Indiana and Ohio as well as online, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Siva Sivani Institute of Management in Hyderabad, India.
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Otter Creek Middle School to celebrate 50 years
Otter Creek Middle School turns 50 years old this year. In 1962, the newly formed Vigo County School Corp. opened the current Otter Creek Middle School as Otter Creek Junior High School.
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College savings campaign kicks off statewide
Students in Clay, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties are joining students across Indiana to launch Learn More Indiana’s 2012 Cash for College campaign this week.
Eighty percent of students who attend college receive financial aid.
- Goals, Pride & Achievements: Feb. 2, 2012
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BRUCE'S HISTORY LESSON: Freedom of religion — beliefs and actions
Because religious faith is, arguably, the quintessential example of our right to privacy, to say nothing of its prominent place in our First Amendment, throughout our history court cases involving the free exercise of religion have been handled with great trepidation and with particular care. One of the milestone “free exercise” religion cases, Davis v. Beason, was decided by the Supreme Court this week (Feb. 3) in 1890.
- Across the Wabash Valley: Feb. 2, 2012
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