2 Friday, September 22,1978
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
A Task Ahead in Judging Candidates for the Next
Nobel Peace Prize ... President Carter's Courage
Earns Priority, With Sadat, Begin as Co-Partners
By Philip
Slomovitz
For President Carter: Admiration and Gratitude
President Jimmy Carter has earned a place of glory in history.
In the hearts of the American people, among Jews and unquestionably also in Egyptian
ranks, the President has risen to a very high plateau.
Now that many of the details of the Camp David summit are becoming known, it is
evident that the President showed patience, devotion to an ideal, a sincere aim for peace.
He had been criticized. Many believed him to be a Sadat partisan. Original policies
pursued by the President, when he first spoke of Palestinians and a Palestinian state and
when he was assumed to be antagonistic to Begin had led his stock to fall.
Menahem Begin put it well when he said that the antagonisms of the past are buried in
the past and that a new era begins for the Middle East.
Begin speaks realistically when he declares that when there is a desire for peace and a
willingness to negotiate, the peace aims can be attained.
Anwar Sadat, like Menahem Begin and Jimmy Carter, joined in making a path for an
accord. He had begun to pack his belongings last Friday when President Carter suc-
ceeded in retaining him for the signature that was needed for the aspired-to and now
realized agreement with Israel for continued negotiations.
True: new problems are arising, the road to peace remains difficult, other Arab nations
are yet to be enrolled in the task for amity. There is much to be done. But the first steps
have been taken. There is hope where previously there was only despair and fears.
A Setback for the Media
Had it not been for the secrecy that was imposed on the Camp David summit, there
might have been even greater trouble in the troubled Middle East. Under the rules that
were set for the Camp David summit there was a lessening of leaks, an elimination of the
type of speculation that gave a platform to animosities like Howard K. Smith's who seems
to have one hatred, his dislike for Begin, with the result that Israel has suffered from his
venom.
The elimination of speculations, even though some attempted to resort to imagination
in evaluating the existing situation, helped a great deal.
So, the press, the media, for whom there is need for an assured freedom, was subjected
to a sort of silence which helped the negotiators.
In a sense, the Camp David summit is a lesson for the media. There must be freedom for
all communications media and the liberties enjoyed by the press must not be curtailed.
But the media are obligated to search for the truth and to eliminate or at least reduce
sensationalism and the emphasis on the speculative.
Candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize
President Carter is already being mentioned for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of
his courageous efforts, of his 13 days of devotiOns which resulted in an accord which will,
hopefully, bring panacea to the Middle East and to the world.
He has earned that honor.
Perhaps it can be shared with Anwar Sadat and Menahem Begin. What a glorious
gesture that would be as recognition of true aims for peace!
Historic Statements on Historic Occasion on the Road to Peace
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Camp David summit con-
ference concluded Sunday night with the signing of two
historic documents that provide a "framework for peace" in
the Middle East. The following. are excerpts from state-
ments by President Carter, Premier Menahem Begin of
Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt as they signed
the documents in the East Room of the White House.
Carter: "When we first arrived at Camp David, the first
thing upon which we agreed was to ask the people of the
world to pray that our negotiations would be successful.
These prayers have been answered far beyond any expecta-
tions. There are still great difficulties that remain and
many hard issues to be settled . . . . But we should all
recognize the substantial achievements that have been
made.
"One of the agreements, entitled 'A Framework for Peace
in the Middle East,' concerns the principles and some
specifics in the most substantive way which will govern a
complete peace settlement. It deals specifically with the
future of the West Bank and Gaza and the needs to resolve
the Palestinian- problem in all its aspects.
"The framework document proposes a five-year transi-
tion period in the West Bank and Gaza during which the
Israeli Military Government will be withdrawn and a self-
governing authority will be elected with full autonomy. It
also provides for Israeli forces to remain in specified loca-
tions during this period to protect Israel's security. The
Palestinians will have the right to participate in the de-
termination of their own future, in negotiations which will
resolve the final status of the West Bank and Gaza and then
to produce an Israel-Jordanian peace treaty.
'These negotiations will be based on all the pro-
visions and all the principles of United Nations Secu-
rity Council Resolution 242 and it provides that Israel
may live in peace within secure and recognized bor-
ders. This great aspiration of Israel has been certified,
without constraint, with the greatest degree of
enthusiasm by President Sadat, the leader of one of
the greatest nations on earth.
"The other document is entitled 'Framework for the Con-
clusion of a Peace Treaty Between Egypt and Israel.' It
provides for the full exercise of Egyptian sovereignty over
the Sinai. It calls for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces
from the Sinai; and after an interim withdrawal, which will
be accomplished very quickly, the establishment of normal
peaceful relations between the two countries, including
diplomatic relations.
"Together with accompanying letters . . . these two Camp
David agreements provide the basis for progress and peace
throughout the Middle East. There is one issue on which
agreement has not been reached. Egypt states that the
agreement to remove Israeli settlements from Egyptian
territory is a prerequisite to a peace treaty. Israel states
that the issue of Israeli settlements should be resolved
during the peace negotiations . . . . Within the next two
weeks, the Knesset will decide on the issue of these settle-
ments. . . ."
(The framework for a Middle East peace document
encompasses) "a framework by which Israel can later
negotiate peace treaties between herself and Lebanon,
Syria, Jordan . . . . It also provides for the realization of the
hopes and dreams of the people who live on the West Bank
and Gaza Strip and will assure Israel peace in the negotia-
tions to come. . . ."
(The document relating to a peace treaty between Egypt
and Israel) "calls for the completion of the peace treaty
negotiations within three months. I have noticed the chal-
lenge extended by these two gentlemen (Sadat and Begin)
to each other. They will complete (signing the document)
within three months. . . . This document encompasses al-
most all of the issues between the two countries and re-
solves these issues. A few lines'remain to be drawn on maps
and the question of the settlements is to be resolved. Other
than that, most of the major issues are resolved already in
this document."
Begin: "The Camp David conference should be renamed.
It was the Jimmy Carter conference. The President took an
initiative most imaginative in our time and brought
President Sadat and myself and our colleagues and friends
and advisors together under one roof. In itself it was a great
achievement . . . and the President worked. As far as my
historic experience is concerned I think that he worked
harder than our forefathers did in Egypt, building the
Pyramids. . . .
"We had some difficult moments, as usually, there are
some crises in negotiations; as usually somebody gives a
hint that perhaps he would like to pick up and go home. It is
all usual, but ultimately . . . the President of the United
States won the day and peace now celebrates victory for the
nations of Egypt and Israel and for all mankind. Mr.
President, we, the Israelis, thank you from the bottom of
our hearts for all you have done for the sake of peace, for
which we prayed and yearn for more than 30 years.
"Now when I came here to the Camp David conference, I
said perhaps as a result of our work one day people in every
corner of the world would be able to say `Habemus pacem' in
the spirit of these days. Can we say so tonight? Not yet. We
still have to go the road until my friend President Sadat and
I sign the peace treaties. . . . Mr. President you inscribed
your name forever in the history of two ancient civilized
peoples, the people of Egypt and the people of Israel.
"I would like to say a few words about my friend,
President Sadat. We met for the first time in our lives last
November in Jerusalem. He came to us as a guest, a former
enemy, and during our first meeting, we became friends. In
the Jewish teachings there is a tradition that the greatest
achievement of a human being is to turn his enemy into a
friend, and this we do in reciprocity. Since then we had
some difficult days. I'm not going now to tell you the saga of
those days. Everything belongs to the past. Today I visited
President Sadat in his cabin . . . he then came to visit me.
We shook hands. And, thank God, we again could have said
to each other, 'you are my friend'. . . ."
Sadat: "Dear President Carter. In this historic moment,
I would like to express to you my heartfelt congratulations
and appreciation. . . . You made a commitment to be a full
partner in the peace process. I am happy to say you have
honored that commitment. The signing of the framework
for the comprehensive peace settlement has a significance
far beyond the event. It signals the emergence of a pew
peace initiative with the American nation in the heart of
the entire process. In the weeks ahead, important decisions
have to be made if we are to proceed on the road td peace. We
have to reaffirm the fate of the Palestinian people in the
ideal of peace. The continuation of your active role is indis-
pensible. We need your help and the support of the Ameri-
can people. . ."
Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter embrace to the applause of
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and U.S. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance (behind Sadat) following the signing
of the peace documents at. White House ceremonies which concluded the historic Camp David summit
conference Sunday evening.