(Sadat - Carter - Begin on the White House Lawn. March 26, 1979)
In what has also been called "Jimmy Carter's Peace Treaty", Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Jimmy Carter assembled on the White House lawn to sign the treaty ending 30 years of fighting between Israel and Egypt. After long and arduous talks at Camp David in 1978, a peace plan was finally hammered out. Not perfect, not regarded with enthusiasm by either the Egyptians or Israelis, it was nonetheless a step. It was a risky move on Sadat's part, breaking ranks with the Arab League. The move was regarded as a betrayal and caused the Arab League to relocate from Cairo to Tunis in protest. Begin suffered politically with longtime Defense Minister Moishe Dayan resigning his post in protest and internal disputes erupted over land seized during the 1967 war. In October of 1981, Anwar Sadat was assassinated, reportedly as the result of his attempt at bringing a peaceful solution to what is universally viewed as the problem without end.
