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6
I
t
was " unthinkable," yet it hap–
pened. Egyptian Presideot
An–
war Sadat-leader of a nation
which four times in the last three
decades exchanged bitter blows with
Israel-was warmly welcomed to Je–
rusalem as an honored guest last
November by the "hard-line" Israelí
Prime Minister, Menahem Begin.
Stepping from bis Boeing 707 jet
at lsrael's Ben-Gurion Airporr, Sa–
dat- the first Arab head of state to
visit Israel since its founding three
decades ago- was greeted by a tu–
multuous explosion of applause. An
Israelí Defense Forces band played
both the Egyptian national anthem
and the solemn Jewish anthem
Ha–
tikva
("The Hope"). There was a red
carpet, an honor guard, a 21-gun
salute, and a receiving line which
included many past and present
Israelí government and military of–
ficials. Sorne of the notables, among
them former Prime Minister Golda
Meir and Foreign Minister Moshe
Dayan, had been personally respon-
sible for conducting Israel's wartime
operations against Egyptian forces.
But the past seemed to be all but
forgotten amid the warm hand–
shakes and smiling exchanges of
greetings. As the world looked on
via satell ite television, it became
readily apparent that the crisis-rid-
den Middle East had entered into a g
new era in its decades-Iong search
~
for peace.
!
&
No Alternatlve
:~
~
By visiting Israel, Sadat was putting
-ª
his political future and possibly
"<:
even bis own life on the line. His
initiative represented a bold break
with past Arab doctrine, and was
made with full realization of the
possible consequences. But it was a
daring risk the Egyptian president–
known for his gambles in the politi–
cal arena- felt he had to take.
For the past 30 years, Egypt has
been on a continua! war footing.
Economic growth has been ham–
strung by the need to maintain con-
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1978