BICOM

The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, will today commemorate the 40th anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem.

At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Today we mark 40 years since the historic visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Jerusalem and Israel. President Sadat took a bold step, he came to the Knesset; he came to Israel. He was welcomed by the entire nation. Since then, the peace treaty with Egypt has survived despite its ups and downs. Today, Egypt and Israel, as well as other countries, are on one side of the barricade in a stubborn struggle against the terror of radical Islam in its various fronts. This contributes significantly to the security of Israel. And I hope that in the future it will also contribute to the expansion of the circle of peace.”

Today’s event will include an address by the current  Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, Hazem Khairat, and speeches from Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely alongside former ministers and officials. Sadat was the first Arab leader to visit Israel and, later, the first Arab leader to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state.

In his address to the Knesset, he said: “What is peace for Israel? It means that Israel lives in the region with her Arab neighbours, in security and safety. To such logic, I say yes. It means that Israel lives within her borders, secure against any aggression. To such logic, I say yes. It means that Israel obtains all kinds of guarantees that ensure those two factors. To this demand, I say yes.”

Reflecting on his arrival 40 years ago, veteran journalist Yaakov Ahimeir writes in Israel Hayom: “Sadat was actually the one that surprisingly aspired for peace, albeit under his conditions, without compromise.”

Ahimeir remembers the fear when Sadat didn’t emerge from his plane when he arrived in Israel. “Over these long seconds, we were sure that teams of Egyptian commandos would exit the plane and cut down the Israeli leaders waiting outside,” he writes, “but instead, Sadat’s outline appeared in magnificent clothes, seeming almost like a prince of the pharaohs”.

Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists in October 1981. Peace between Israel and Egypt has nevertheless endured for 38 years since the signing of the Camp David peace accord in 1978 and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty in 1979.