July 19

Thirteen Days in September, Carter, Begin, and Sadat at Camp David (2014)

By Lawrence Wright

Today Jimmy Carter is considered a statesman and possibly the moral conscience of our country, but sadly, many think he was among the least accomplished presidents. However, the peace treaty he brokered between Israel and Egypt was an amazing achievement. 

In 1978, Carter invited the leaders of Israel and Egypt to Camp David, the presidential retreat center in Maryland, to work on a peace accord between the two countries. He had three main objectives: Arab recognition of Israel’s right to exist, Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories, and an undivided Jerusalem. Prime Minister Menachem Begin said he would attend because of the faith he had in Carter, a born-again Christian who know the Bible well, and would know that Israel was fighting for what was written in the scriptures. 

Sadat arrived with pre-set ideas of what he wanted, as well as concessions he would make.  He seemed the more reasonable of the two men and Begin was confrontational to the end. Both groups threatened to leave at different times when they were unable to agree. Carter had to strong arm them to come to the final agreement. He let them each know, individually, that if the peace talks failed, they would be to blame, which would probably cost them their career. The final agreement was only a part of what was hoped for, and the Palestinians were completely left out of the equation. 

It is not clear why Egypt came alone; no other members of the Arab community attended. From other readings, leaders like King Hussein of Jordan was taken unaware that Sadat was going out on his own. Hussein’s goal in life was peace in a united Arab front. 

The structure of the book is a review of meetings and achievements of day-by-day, interspersed with a concise history of Arab-Israeli relations, going back to the beginning of time, as well the history of each of the three men. While many leaders come from military backgrounds, I was surprised to learn of Begin’s violent history.   

No one expected the negotiations to last so long. It’s difficult to imagine world leaders absent from day-to-day governing for a couple of days, much less two weeks. (Remember when Hillary Clinton had a cough?)

I learned much about the history of the Middle East, the bloodshed, fighting, the killings. Sadly, the Palestinians were the losers in these negotiations, and remain so. We read daily of conflicts on the borders and the death count continues to rise. It’s sometimes difficult to consider the peace treaty a success.  

Wright interviewed those still living who had attended the retreat and he also had access to the memoirs and diaries of each of the three leaders.  No one researches and writes like he does. Because he lived and taught in Egypt, he understood the mind set of the Middle East. 

While this is the telling of an important time in history, it also is a wonderful tribute to Jimmy Carter. We know him as a man of faith, but he was also a shrewd negotiator, and his goal was peace.  Where are leaders like this today? 

Guest review by Jean Warneke.  Thanks, Jeannie!