September 17th, 2023, was the 45 anniversary of the signing of the Camp David Accords, between U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The agreement led to peace between Israel and Egypt, the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, and the normalization of political and economic relations between Israel and Egypt, including the Egyptian recognition of Israel as a state.
While the Accords did not end the broader Arab-Israeli conflict or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they were the first step towards a lasting peace in the region. It ended a state of war between Israel and Egypt that had lasted for 30 years, and has endured for almost half a century, despite the constant turmoil in the region and various crises in both states.
All three leaders involved chose to work together to achieve peace, with Carter mediating between two men who had to make important sacrifices to secure peace. For Israel, Begin relinquished the Sinai, which Israel had occupied since 1967, while for Egypt, Sadat became the first Arab head of state to recognize Israel, a risky move that ultimately led to his assassination in 1981. The peace agreement marked the end of the era of outright war between Israel and Arab state actors; the Arab-Israeli conflict subsequently became centered on Israel and sub-state actors such as the PLO/Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Hezbollah. In the decades that followed, further peace treaties were signed between Israel and other Arab states such as Jordan, even as peace with the Palestinains and other neighboring states remains elusive.
What is remarkable about the peace won at Camp David is that it outlasted the careers of the three three men who were responsible for it. Sadat ,as mentioned, was assassinated by extremists within his own military. Begin led Israel into a war in Lebanon in 1982 and subsequently lost reelection 2 years later; and Carter lost his own reelection bid in in 1980 despite having secured this significant diplomatic victory. Since the September 17, 1978 signing of the Accords, peace remains in effect between Egypt and Israel, with Egypt sometimes also mediating to build further peace in the region.
The region still faces significant turmoil, between the revolutions of the Arab Spring, the devastation of the Syrian Civil War, and the seemingly unending conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Subsequent attempts to find a lasting, peaceful solution, most notably the 1993 Oslo Accords, have failed to achieve long-term peace. Camp David shows that peace is possible in the region, even between two states that had viewed each other as enemies. Sadat and Begin took many risks to make peace. They were not perfect. However, they demonstrated the importance of human connection in peacebuilding. This is a lesson for both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders today, who often prefer inflammatory rhetoric to building a closer personal relationship for peace. If they follow the lead of both their predecessors and even some of their own people, peace can be achieved, no matter how impossible it might seem. 45 years later, Camp David shows us that peace is always possible.
Leo Weakland
Leo Weakland graduated from the George Washington University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs. He is the Development and Operations Manager for Peace News Network, and is based in Washington, D.C. Before Peace News, he worked as a Research Assistant at GWU, for a nonprofit focused on supporting veterans running for office, and interned at the Office of the General Counsel at the Centers for Disease Control.
