On a calm morning in September 1978, President Jimmy Carter’s helicopter landed atop an isolated mountain in northern Maryland. At the center of 125 acres of trees lay the 11 cabins of Camp David, the presidential retreat, and his home for the next few days. Despite the serene setting, Carter was tense. Tomorrow was the beginning of a period he would later call among the most dramatic days of his life –  tomorrow was when the leaders of Egypt and Israel would join him in isolation to discuss peace between their countries. 

The situation between the two nations was a complicated one, further aggravated by competing claims to the Sinai Peninsula, a piece of land Israel had occupied since the 1967 Six Day War. It was a complex issue, but Carter had the rest of the day to prepare. He studied a thick intelligence folder provided by the CIA containing maps, treaties, historic charters, and, most importantly, psychological profiles on the two guests of honor.1

First, there was President Anwar El-Sadat of Egypt. Sadat came from a large family of peasants and spent his early adulthood as a revolutionary against British colonialism in Egypt. His power as a leader came from his charisma and he had a penchant for the celebrity element of the global stage.2 Which is not to say he did not take the job seriously, he had proven to his critics that he belonged in office, and during his seven years as president had shown the flexibility to enact real change, possessing a capacity for “surprising, courageous and dramatic decisions” according to the CIA. 3 Perhaps this was why he was en route to America to discuss peace with Israel, his country’s greatest enemy at the time.

In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was staunch on his views and unwavering in his convictions. If Sadat was "the most forthcoming member of the Egyptian delegation," then Begin was "the most reluctant member of the Israeli delegation."4 His unwillingness to compromise was likely colored by his experiences during World War II, when he was forced to flee Poland while his father, mother and brother were killed by Nazis. Only taking office a year before this meeting, Begin was the first right wing leader of Israel, and had already begun to take the country in a new direction.5

President Carter had his work cut out for him. Attempting to find a compromise between these two who appeared to be complete opposites would be incredibly difficult, and a public, high-profile failure could be catastrophic for everyone involved. Unfortunately, failure seemed like the most likely outcome. When the pair arrived, they were only able to remain civil for a few days. After one shout-filled meeting ended with Carter literally standing in front of the door to prevent the enraged leaders from storming out mid- conversation, Carter decided the discussions needed a reset.

The next day, he organized a field trip to the nearby Gettysburg battlefield where Union and Confederate forces had clashed in 1863 on one condition – there would be absolutely no discussion of the negotiations during the trip. On the limousine ride to the site, Carter sat between the other two heads of state, acting as a physical buffer in addition to a diplomatic one. Away from the negotiating table, the temperature was turned down and the rivals were forced to make small talk. They discovered a shared background, having both spent considerable parts of their lives in prison.

Begin reminisced about how, while subjected to endless questioning by a Soviet interrogator, he used his rhetorical skills from law school to flip the Soviet’s arguments back on him in a form of linguistic judo that would have made Socrates proud.6 Sadat responded with stories from the countless prisons he was transferred between. On his tour behind bars, he learned French and German, wrote a play, had a religious reawakening thanks to a Reader’s Digest article and, while at an exceptionally boring prison, bred rabbits so effectively that they overran the compound.7

With common ground established, spirits were mostly high upon arrival at the battlefield. Members of the Israeli and Egyptian delegations, including Sadat, excitedly discussed the Battle of Gettysburg. Because many of them attended advanced military academies, they had studied the battle extensively and were thoroughly versed in Civil War’s history. Notably absent from the gaiety was Begin, who Rosalynn Carter observed was distant and perhaps deep in reflection. When the party moved to the graveyard where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, Begin broke his silence. There, standing where Lincoln once had, completely unprompted, Begin began to recite the entirety of the famous speech from memory, astonishing all in attendance.

Despite the success of the Gettysburg trip, when the trio returned to the negotiating table, conversations were still largely unproductive. The next five days saw Carter riding a bicycle back and forth from cabin to cabin in a seemingly endless series of discussions which all ended with frustration. The three leaders had been absent from their countries for over ten days and still had nothing to show for it. The pressure was felt by everyone. In an attempt to tamp down his anxiety, Israeli Minister of Defense Ezer Weizman spent an entire day in the Camp David theater binge-watching movies – he saw the WWII movie Patton five times that day.8

Carter had told his staff to draft up a speech to announce to Congress that the talks had failed, when all of a sudden his Secretary of State burst into the room, pale faced and breathless.

“Sadat is leaving. He and his aides are already packed. He asked me to order him a helicopter!”9

According to Carter, this was one of the worst moments of his life.10 To have the meetings end with no agreement was one thing, but to have one party break off the talks with such an abrupt, undiplomatic exit could be catastrophic, dashing the credibility of all involved. This was simply not an option.

Carter changed out of his casual camp clothes and into a suit, prayed, then marched over to Sadat’s cabin. He conveyed the serious consequences of what Sadat’s withdraw would mean for the future of their countries, their people, and most of all, their personal relationship. “It will mean the end of something very precious to me,” he told the Egyptian, “my friendship with you.”11 Carter had never been more serious in his life.12 Their relationship was truly one that existed beyond diplomacy, Sadat always referred to the US leader as “my friend Jimmy,” and Carter would later say that Anwar Sadat was the greatest leader he had ever met.13 Reassured that they were still on the same page, and with some additional promises, Sadat agreed to see the talks to the end.

Though the US and Egypt had seemingly ironed out their differences, Israel was still not on board. Begin was steadfast in his position that Israel keep its settlements on the Sinai peninsula, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "My right eye will fall out, my right hand will fall off before I ever agree to the dismantling of a single Jewish settlement," the Israeli leader told Carter's National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski.14 Despite Carter’s desperate attempt to revive the talks, it appeared they were still doomed to fail. But then, an unexpected breakthrough...

At the beginning of the conference, a photo had been taken of the three leaders, and Begin wanted signed copies of the photograph to gift to his grandchildren. Sadat had already signed them, but Carter had been holding off until a conclusion had been reached. Now sensing that the summit was nearing its end without a resolution, he sat down to sign. His personal secretary, Susan Clough, thought it would be a nice touch to personalize them, so she made some calls and got the kids’ names.15 Carter signed them each “with love to” followed with the child’s name. It was a small gesture – the kind of personal touch for which Carter would become well known. It also turned out to be world changing.

When he was finished, the President trudged over to Begin’s cabin, full of disappointment. Journalist Lawrence Wright recounts the tension of when Carter met Begin on his porch, bags packed. The two could hardly speak to each other outside of brief, professional language.

“Mr. Prime Minister, I brought you the photographs you asked for,” Carter said.

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

Carter handed Begin the photographs and the prime minister coolly thanked him again. Then he noticed that Carter had signed the top photograph “To Ayelet.”

Begin froze. He looked at the next one. “To Osnat.” His lip trembled and tears suddenly sprang into his eyes. One by one, he said their names aloud, weeping openly. “Orit.” “Meirav.” “Michal.” There were eight of them altogether. Carter also broke down.

“I wanted to be able to say, ‘This is when your grandfather and I brought peace to the Middle East.’”16

The stiffness of politics melted and gave way to a human moment, the two discussing parenthood and Begin showing Carter which grandchild was his favorite.17 With the long-term consequences of their failure made realer than ever, Begin invited the president into his cabin where Carter observed that the man’s stoic demeanor had largely changed, and they spoke in a much friendlier tone than they had for the whole of the summit. 

Begin ultimately agreed to accept much of what Sadat and Carter were proposing with regard to Israel's relations with Egypt. Among many specifics, some of the more major agreements reached were that Israel would return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, and in turn Egypt would grant Israel diplomatic recognition and allow Israel non-military use of the Suez Canal.18 The agreement did not solve all of the issues between the two nations, or differences over the fate of the Palestinians. But after 13 days of discussion and twenty-three drafts, there was finally a framework for lasting peace. As Carter remarked later, "In the years before Camp David, there were four major wars between Israel and its neighbors, generally led by Egypt."19 In the four decades since, there have been none.

On September 17, the three leaders sat shoulder to shoulder behind a desk in the East Room of the White House, each brandishing a pen and a tired smile. They signed two documents that evening, one a framework for Middle East relations generally, and the other a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel. Though just a framework, the leaders reconvened at the White House in March of 1979 to sign a formal treaty. Sadat and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for jointly negotiating peace between their nations. These dramatic days would even become the subject of a play Camp David, which the Carters and Sadat’s wife attended in 2014.20

While this may appear to be a happy ending, things are never so simple in global politics. Egypt’s participation in the talks and the legitimacy they granted Israel enraged much of the Arab world. Egypt was consequently expelled from the Arab League for ten years,21 and Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.22 Begin, on the other hand, feeling secure about Israel’s border with Egypt, authorized an invasion of Lebanon in an attempt to defeat Palestine Liberation Organization forces there. The unpopular war contributed to his decision to resign in 1983.23

Though lasting peace across the Middle East region remains elusive, the fact that Egypt and Israel still have peace forty years after the agreements were signed is a notable accomplishment. In a situation that often appears unsolvable, the 13 days these three leaders spent at Camp David showed that hope was possible. 

Author's Note

For more on the Camp David Accords, check out Lawrence Wright's Thirteen Days in September (Alfred A. Knopf, 2014) and Jimmy Carter's White House Diary (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010), which were the main sources for this article.