November 19, 1977
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat‘s plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport at the start of a historic 36-hour visit to Israel. He is greeted by Prime Minister Menachem Begin, President Ephraim Katzir and a 21-gun salute. After the ceremony at the airport, Sadat is driven to Jerusalem for an hour-long meeting with Begin.
Ten days earlier, after attempts at a joint Soviet-American-sponsored peace conference fell apart, Sadat, in a speech to the Egyptian parliament, offered to go to the Knesset to discuss peace. Begin extended an invitation to Sadat via the United States on November 15 in a letter that read, “Your Excellency’s readiness to undertake such a visit, as expressed to the People’s Council of Egypt, has been noted here with deep and positive interest, as has your statement that you wish to address the members of our parliament, the Knesset, and to meet with me.”
Sadat quickly accepted the invitation.
When the visit was announced on Israeli radio, Jerusalem residents rushed outside in celebration and danced in the streets. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmy resigned, believing the visit would hurt Egypt’s reputation with other Arab states. The Syrian government said of the planned visit, “We hold him responsible for the repercussions of his decision.”
An estimated 2,000 journalists are in Jerusalem to cover the historic visit, and a special communications center is set up at the Jerusalem Theater to handle the event. The Israeli police cancel all vacation requests and set up a special security detail for the visit.
One woman tells The Jerusalem Post, “I saw on TV the landing of the moon. It was nothing compared to this.”
