THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Cordial Ties, Hopes for Peace Marked Sadat's Visit
HAIFA (JTA) — Premier
Menahem Begin and
President Anwar Sadat
reiterated their pledge to
peace in the Middle East at
a state dinner conducted in
their behalf last week.
"We shall not be discour-
aged," Begin told some 150
persons assembled in the
Dan Carmel Hotel. "We
signed a great, interna-
tional document, a peace
treaty. We will carry it out
in good faith, in coopera-
tion, in understanding, in
friendship, for the good of
our peoples and of the
all'Tion and of the world."
1111( Noting the need to "set an
example of how understand-
ing between nations can be
achieved and how they live
together in peace, the Pre-
mier observed ironically
that in contrast to days past,
when "war was attacked as
a tragic, horrifying phe-
nomenon," now peace is
being condemned in inter-
national conference halls,
by official communiques, by
various spokesmen . . . what
a damaging action. What
has always been a praise-
worthy cause for joy and re-
joicing has become in cer-
tain circles a cause for
alarm."
In turn, the Egyptian
president firmly ex-
pressed his commitment
to a comprehensive
peace. We are deter-
mined to take the road (of
peace) no matter what
the obstacles might be.
We made a firm commit-
ment to our peoples and
all the nations of the
world to pursue the noble
goal of peace and recon-
ciliation. This is not
merely a line of policy. It
is a sacred mission that
started the day I visited
Jerusalem."
Likening the road of
negotiations to a road fol-
lowed by the Prophets and
great reformers throughout
history, Sadat, in -a slightly
less tenacious tone than the
night before, observed that
"a humane and thoughtful
approach to the Palestinian
problem can perform mira-
cles. Reconciliation be-
tween Israel and the Pales-
tinian people is the shortest
route to a new era of peace
and happiness."
Sadat added: "You have
your legitimate concern.
Similarly, they (the Pales-
tinians) have their .legiti-
mate rights and aspira-
tions. We want these ends to
meet."
Meeting with Israeli
editors, Sadat said the peace
treaty with Egypt no longer
.pended on him only.
Egypt is no longer a one
man country, but a demo-
cratic country." He said the
majority of the Egyptians
supported the peace treaty
in the referendum that took
place after the signing of the
treaty, and therefore there
was no fear that his suc-
cessor might change the
peace policy.
Sadat repeated the
pledges he made in his
Knesset speech two years
ago that there will be no
more war after the Yom
Kippur War, and that any
settlement would take
into consideration the se-
curity needs of Israel.
Sadat was very critical of
other Arab countries, not-
ing that most of them suf-
fered from internal instabil-
ity, and could therefore
hardly be taken seriously
when they opposed the
peace treaty. This proves
that Egypt took the right
path when it engaged in the
peace initiative, he said.
Sadat argued that the
peace process has proven
fruitful for Egypt: she had
retrieved El Arish- and
shortly will regain the oil
fields, and at the same time
she is negotiating au-
tonomy for the Palesti-
nians.
On the other hand, the
other Arab countries are
troubled with internal
strife: "Saddam Hussein
(the new Iraqi president)
had to remove his president,
and kill his very intimate
friends . . . In Syria the
situation is deteriorating."
He mentioned the
tragedy in Lebanon, and
the conflicts between
Algeria, Morocco and
Libya. Even Saudi
Arabia suffers from in-
stability with the king
staying for extended
periods in Switzerland.
In the midst of all this,
Egypt is an island of
peace and love, Sadat
said.
He again repeated his be-
lief that by the end of this
year other countries, in the
first place, Jordan, would
join the peace process. Fur-
thermore, Sadat said, at
this stage there is no real
need for the Palestinians to
join the talks, although if
they wish to do so they
would be welcome. But after
three years of the existence
of autonomy, the Palesti-
nians will have to partici-
pate because their partici-
pation will be vital for their
destiny.
"Let us stick together to
the cornerstone of the whole
comprehensive settlement,
that is Camp David and the
Egyptian-Israeli treaty.
Everything after that will
be solved easily. . . . Dif-
ferences of opinion? Yes.
But conflicts — I don't think
we shall have any conflicts
between us."
"I wonder if it is only coin-
cidence that a few days be-
fore I arrived here, my ar-
cheologists found the an-
cient city of Ion, where
Joseph lived, married and
studied. We have found the
houses of the priests. My ar-
cheologists are now doing
their best to locate the
house of Joseph.
"I have told my friend
(Deputy Premier Yigael)
Yadin (a noted ar-
cheologist) to come and
join ... But write this:
whenever we find the
house of Moses, I shall re-
fuse any Israeli claim of
territory."
The 3,000-year-old site of
Ion near Cairo was also once
The slothful man shall
not hunt his prey; but the
precious substance of men is
to be diligent.
the home of Moses and
where Plato studied. It was
the world cultural capital at
the time.
Sadat also told the editors
that he was deeply moved
by the warm reception he
and his family received
from the people of Haifa. He
invited Haifa residents to
come and spend their vaca-
tions in Alexandria. "In
Alexandria every summer
we have one-and-a-half
vacationers. Well, we can
add the whole population of
Haifa," he said.
Prior to the state dinner,
Sadat initiated a meeting
with a four-member delega-
tion of the Peace Now
movement where he
thanked them for their con-
tribution to the peacemak-
ing process. During the
15-minute meeting he in-
vited the delegation to
Egypt, although no exact
date was set.
The delegation, in turn,
expressed appreciation to
Sadat for the initiative he
took which set the peace
process in motion.
Sadat left Israel Sept. 6
by plane from Ben-
Gurion Airport. Before
leaving, he declared: "We
came to Haifa with a mes-
sage of love and friend-
ship. We leave today with
a renewed sense of hope
and confidence in the fu-
ture. The sentiments ex-
pressed by every Israeli
throughout our visit were
overwhelming. I take this
not only as a message for
the Egyptian people but
also as a world of confi-
dence for the prospects of
peace .... I am very
pleased with the ever-
growing friendship be-
tween our peoples. Very
soon our relations will
reach a new era for our
common benefit."
He concluded in Arabic:
"Peace upon you and God's
blessings."
Begin, in response, ex-
pressed the gratitude of Is-
rael for Sadat's visit and de-
clared: "This was a
momentous visit and pro-
vided positive results.
Again it was proved that
the warmth of the hearts of
our people as that of the
Egyptian people bring
them, with every visit you
paid to Israel and I paid to
Egypt, nearer and closer.
"We have very serious
discussions. During this
visit again close, intimate
friendship was established
between the representa-
tives of our countries, which
in our time is a treasure to
be guarded, cherished."
Begin concluded: "We do not
We say au re-
ir
v sao yrodbye.
A.UIRU1 SWING
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