MEMRI: Egyptian Columnist Praises Sadat for Making Peace with Israel

Special Dispatch - Egypt

November 29, 2000

No. 158

Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI)

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Fax: (202) 955-9077

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Website: www.memri.org

[MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be cited

with proper attribution.]

Egyptian Columnist Praises Sadat for Making Peace with Israel

Egyptian columnist Salah Muntasir, who holds the late President Sadat in

high regard, wrote an article entitled "Sadat was Right," in Al-Ahram, the

leading newspaper in Egypt, on the anniversary of Sadat's visit to

Jerusalem, "23 years ago today, on November 19, 1977, the late President, Anwar

Al-Sadat, made his extraordinary visit to Jerusalem, during which he gave an

historic speech in the Knesset. In this speech, Sadat declared that Israel

had become a fait accompli, recognized by the world, and that the two

superpowers [the US and the USSR] were responsible for its protection.

Sadat's recognition of Israel stemmed from realistic necessity and not from

reliance on any sort of history or fairy tales."

"Sadat fought two great wars.the war of crossing [the Suez Canal]. and the

war for peace that he took upon himself. Many of his aides abandoned him at

the time, fearing the results of the war for peace."

"Perhaps Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in 1977 seemed like an ostentatious

acrobatic leap, and his intentions as a way of attracting the spotlights and

the television. Indeed, it was described by some as a televised visit.

However, today any analyst can understand that what Sadat did in '77 was

purely political, and based on a number of facts about which Sadat was

right:

1. Israel is a precedent never repeated in world history. It was the

first state in history established by a resolution of the international community.

Therefore, a war against Israel is essentially a war against the world that

authorized its establishment.

2. When the Arabs rejected the Partition Plan in 1947, they based their

decision on the dream of destroying Israel. This dream turned out to be

unrealistic given the balance of power between the world's superpowers.

Likewise, it became clear to the Israelis that they would not be able to

realize their dream of wiping out the Palestinian's existence.

3. All of the Arab nations import weapons. Additionally, none of the

wars with Israel took place within the territory of Israel.

4. The U.S. is the central power managing the conflict, because it

supports Israel politically, economically and militarily.

5. From the moment the Security Council passed Resolution 242,

protecting the right of each nation in the region to live in peace within secure and

recognized borders, there remained no escape from the path of negotiations

with Israel.

6. If Israel had continued to occupy the Sinai, it would have

increased its ability to add obstacles, such as additional settlements and various

projects as indeed happened in the Golan.

The difference between Sadat and the others is that Sadat saw all of this

way back in 1977, whereas the others have needed 20 years and more to see

it." (1)

Endnotes:

(1) Al-Ahram (Egypt), November 19, 2000

The Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,

non-profit organization providing translations of the media of the Middle

East and original analysis on developments in the region. Copies of

articles

and documents cited, as well as background information, are available upon

request.

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