Washington – 40 years after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begun signed the Camp David Accords, leading to an unprecedented peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, legislation recognizing Sadat for taking historic strides to end decades of enmity in the Middle East was signed into law Thursday by President Donald Trump.
The Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration Act will recognize Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981 in retaliation for his efforts to make peace with Israel, with the Congressional Gold Medal.
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The bipartisan legislation was sponsored by Senators Orrin Hatch and Ben Cardin and Representatives Chris Stewart and Grace Meng and praises Sadat for his “heroic achievements and courageous contributions to peace in the Middle East.” It was passed unanimously by both houses, clearing the Senate on August 22nd and the House of Representatives on September 26th.
The movement to recognize the Egyptian president posthumously with the Congressional Gold Medal was spearheaded by Ezra Friedlander, CEO of the Friedlander Group and and Shafik Gabr, chairman of the Shafik Gabr Foundation, joint heads of the Sadat Gold Medal Commission.
Recognizing the first Arab leader to visit Israel with one of the country’s the highest civilian award sends a renewed message of belief, hope and vision for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East, said Friedlander.
“Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Anwar Sadat for his courageous leadership will introduce President Sadat to a new generation of Americans and gives us hope for peace for the future,” Friedlander told VIN News.
“Anwar Sadat was a man of vision, wisdom and courage and, above all, a staunch believer in peace,” added Gabr. “He serves as an example to all of us, and most importantly, reminds us of the power of nations coming together and working towards the same goal.”
Members of the Sadat family and the law’s sponsors will meet to discuss the medal’s design which is expected to be presented to Sadat’s widow, Jehan Sadat, in March, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the actual signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
In a letter sent to Friedlander last summer, Mrs. Sadat expressed her gratitude to those who advocated for her husband’s congressional recognition, while also reiterating the Egyptian president’s ironclad commitment to the peace process.
“In today’s atmosphere of conflict and uncertainty, those in positions to make peace must make peace their solemn duty, their sacred mission,” wrote Mrs. Sadat. “Peace is possible. I know this is true, because I have seen it.
I know, because my husband brought peace to the Middle East when scores of politicians and pundits said he couldn’t do it. I know, because Anwar Sadat was a man of peace who died for his principles.”
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can someone tell the politicians that Ezra Friedlander does NOT speak for frum people he is a free agent that literally defended the Iran deal for money. EZRA go away.
From the material I’ve read (in the public domain, at least), Mrs. Sadat (on the Egyptian side) deserved/deserves a huge amount of the credit for pushing and pushing and pushing her husband to keep moving.
Mrs. Begin, too, but Menachem was pretty much on board and only needed some minor nudging…
I remember when Barbara Walters interviewed Anwar Sadat in 1976. Sadat stated “BAR-BA-RA, how did you get a $1,000,000/year job; you know, I don’t receive $1,000,000/year as President of Egypt”. Barbara Walters stated “Mr. President, I don’t live in a Presidential palace”. Also, I remember when the Egyptian delegation descended the steps of the Egypt Air plane, immediately after Shabbos, in late November, 1977. It was the Thanksgiving weekend, in the USA. Immediately, the bugles of a large contingent of the IDF band, began playing. All of the Israeli politicians were at Ben-Gurion, including Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Ariel Sharon, Yitzchak Rabin, Menachem Begin, and others. When Begin went to address the Knesset to introduce Sadat, a female member of parliament rudely interrupted him, and began shouting; this was shown live on satellite tv. Begin smiled and turned to Sadat, and stated in English, “Mr. President, I’m glad that they interrupted me, and not you”. About three years later, when Begin traveled to Egypt, Sadat took him in his personal car, and drove away from their respective security teams, without informing them in advance. (continued in next posting).
(continued from prior posting due to lack of space). The Mossad and Sadat’s personal security werre not happy that Sadat and Begin got into Sadat’s car, and Sadat sped off, losing the security detail, temporarily. Sadat finally said to Begin, “enough of this Mr. President, I will call you Menachem, and you will call me Anwar”. Sadat showed Begin all of the various military airfields. When Begin asked Sadat why they needed so many, Sadat replied “to protect us from you”. Later, Sadat became very close with Ezer Weizman. During a tour that Sadat was giving to Weizman, an Egyptian soldier came up to Weizman and told him in English that he knew about the fate of a missing Israeli Air Force pilot, whose plane had been lost over Egypt. Weizman personally knew the missing pilot, and was very appreciative that he finally knew what happened. Shortly before he was killed in 1981, Mayor Koch presented Sadat with a key to New York City.