Uri Avnery: An Unforgettable Moment

[question everything]

An Unforgettable Moment

15/11/08


WHEN I told this to Anwar Sadat, he laughed: "The moment the door of your airplane opened, all Israelis held their breath. I live on a main street in Tel-Aviv, and at that moment I looked out at the street below. It was totally empty. Nothing moved, except one cat which was probably hurrying home to the television." The day after tomorrow, 31 years will have passed from that moment, one of the greatest in our lives.

(snip)

And here he was. The unbelievable was happening before our eyes. A date to remember: November 17, 1977. The entire Israeli leadership stood in a row on the tarmac. The Egyptian airplane landed and slowly taxied towards the red carpet. The stairs were attached. For a moment the atmosphere was surreal. And then the door opened, and there stood the Egyptian leader, slim, erect and solemn. Israeli army buglers sounded the salute. An unforgettable moment. I have looked for a historical parallel and found none. It could even be compared with the first steps of man on the moon. Anwar Sadat had done something that was without precedent.

(snip)

Sadat did it. He had addressed the emotions of every Israeli. This bold deed was the shock to the emotions and consciousness, without which the peace with Egypt would not have been possible. Sadat captured the hearts of a whole people. Emotional attitudes that had been frozen for decades melted like butter in the midday sun, clearing the path for a completely different way of looking at things. People who hated the Egyptians - and, indeed, all Arabs - liked him on sight. From this moment on he could talk to the Israeli public and persuade it - they hung on his lips.

(snip)

Sadat was neither naïve nor a gambler. Before he took his fateful step, he had secret negotiations with Begin. The Egyptian deputy prime minister, Hassan Tohami, was sent to Morocco to meet with Moshe Dayan, Begin's foreign minister at the time. Dayan assured him unequivocally that Begin was prepared to give back all of Sinai, to the last grain of sand. In simple words: Before the dramatic gesture, before the start of the official negotiations, Sadat knew that he would get back all the Egyptian territory occupied by Israel. He was walking on solid ground.

(snip)

But Sadat proved one thing, which in my eyes is more important than anything else: one can change the emotional state of an entire people. One can cut the psychological knot with one bold stroke. For that one needs leaders, on both sides. Such leaders can appear quite suddenly, in the most unexpected place and at the most unexpected time. Barak Obama could prove to be a kind of American Sadat.

(snip)

http://www.avnery-news.co.il/english/index.html

[misskittysister]

1. I got up at 6 a.m. to watch on TV in State College, PA

Before the internet era and 24/7 news, this was truly, for me, must see TV, which I never thought I'd live to see. I am Jewish, but I couldn't believe the incredible courage of this man and will never shake the striking memory of he and Golda Meir warmly embracing. Although he had the assurance of getting the land back, he had no assurance that his actions wouldn't be seen as treasonous among many of his own people, yet he thought it was the right thing to do and I've long admired him for that. I believe he knew he may have been signing his death warrant but he did what he thought was right to forward to prospects of peace for future generations.

[Blue_in_Mass]

2. errr... Sadat was murdered by a rabid militant.

I am not 100% comfortable with Uri's analogy here ...