35 Years since the Signing of the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel: A New Publication by the Israel State Archives

Sep 12, 2014

On 26 March 1979 Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty between their two nations. Afterwards they joined hands with US President Jimmy Carter in the famous triple handshake, which has become the symbol of a turning point in the history of the Middle East. The ceremony on the White House lawn, before an excited crowd, broadcast live to the world, barely hinted at the difficulties of the previous months. The negotiations overcame many crises before reaching their goal. Frequently it seemed that they would fail, and the area would plunge back into conflict and bloodshed. At last Carter was able to breathe a sigh of relief and to say to Begin: “What we have achieved up till now is no less than a miracle…The hand of God is in what has been achieved.”

To mark the 35th anniversary of the signing of the treaty, the Israel State Archives presents a special publication, which includes 67 documents, 18 of them in English, recording crucial stages in the diplomatic contacts leading up to the Camp David summit conference, the conference itself and the negotiations on the treaty before the actual signing in Washington. The material is presented together with a rich collection of photographs, caricatures, video clips and other sources, among them handwritten minutes taken by Professor Aharon Barak of meetings between the Israeli delegation to Camp David and the Americans, presented here for the first time after Professor Barak kindly helped us to read them. The publications is presented in three forms: a free app for Tablet and the Internet in Hebrew and an English publication available on the ISA website. The English publication includes translations of the introductions, the list of documents with summaries and translations of two of the Hebrew documents, and a selection of photographs and caricatures.

http://www.archives.gov.il/NR/exeres/97C61CD9-8203-4157-AEED-A177D42AAE2E,frameless.htm?NRMODE=Published

It also includes a link to the Israel State Archives publication on the revolution in Iran in January-February 1979 as seen through the eyes of Israeli diplomats, which was published earlier this year
http://www.archives.gov.il/ArchiveGov_Eng/Publications/ElectronicPirsum/Khomeini1/