Handwritten Working Notes of President Carter
9/1978
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These notes written by President Jimmy Carter indicate the difficulty of the last few hours of negotiations at Camp David.
On September 5, 1978, President Carter had welcomed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, the secluded presidential retreat in Maryland, to negotiate a peace settlement. All the parties had arrived with high expectations. They asked the world to pray that peace in the Middle East could be achieved through these meetings.
However, just a couple of days into the summit, discussions between Sadat and Begin escalated into heated arguments. When Sadat and Begin were no longer on speaking terms, President Carter decided that he would act as the go-between, hashing out proposals with one leader and then the other. The U.S. negotiating team also met separately with the Israeli and Egyptian teams.
Discussions with the Israeli and Egyptian delegations continued for several days, with Sadat and Begin meeting separately with President Carter. Both men talked openly and honestly with Carter. Both had serious concerns and became emotional about the status of the city of Jerusalem. Land, always the source of Middle East conflict, remained the major sticking point.
The last day of the Camp David Summit, saw a flurry of writing and re-writing final versions of agreements. After several rounds of revisions, the delegations finally had two agreements that their leaders could sign—a Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, and a Framework for Peace in the Middle East.
On September 17, 1978, after 12 days of negotiations, Begin and Sadat signed the Camp David Accords.
On September 5, 1978, President Carter had welcomed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, the secluded presidential retreat in Maryland, to negotiate a peace settlement. All the parties had arrived with high expectations. They asked the world to pray that peace in the Middle East could be achieved through these meetings.
However, just a couple of days into the summit, discussions between Sadat and Begin escalated into heated arguments. When Sadat and Begin were no longer on speaking terms, President Carter decided that he would act as the go-between, hashing out proposals with one leader and then the other. The U.S. negotiating team also met separately with the Israeli and Egyptian teams.
Discussions with the Israeli and Egyptian delegations continued for several days, with Sadat and Begin meeting separately with President Carter. Both men talked openly and honestly with Carter. Both had serious concerns and became emotional about the status of the city of Jerusalem. Land, always the source of Middle East conflict, remained the major sticking point.
The last day of the Camp David Summit, saw a flurry of writing and re-writing final versions of agreements. After several rounds of revisions, the delegations finally had two agreements that their leaders could sign—a Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, and a Framework for Peace in the Middle East.
On September 17, 1978, after 12 days of negotiations, Begin and Sadat signed the Camp David Accords.
This primary source comes from the Collection JC-PLAINS: Plains Files.
National Archives Identifier: 594325
Full Citation: Handwritten Working Notes of President Carter; 9/1978; Mideast: Camp David Summit, President's Working Papers, 9/13/78-9/27/78; Subject Files, 1973 - 1982; Collection JC-PLAINS: Plains Files; Jimmy Carter Library, Atlanta, GA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/working-notes-carter, September 9, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
