President Sadat of Egypt visit in Israel began on November 19, 1977, and lasted three days. It was a historic event that brought a change in Israel-Egypt relations, and opened a new epoch in the history of the Middle East. President Sadat of Egypt was the first Arab leader to visit Israel. He addressed the Knesset Plenum and met with all political parties represented in it. Through the visit Sadat open the road to the peace process with Israel, reaching a peak on March 26, 1979, with the signing of the Camp David accords, which paved the road to a full peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Sadat and his partner in the peace process, Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, were awarded the Peace Nobel Prize.
From the exhibition: a stormy General Staff meeting, a few days after Sadat's dramatic landing in Israel, where the Generals could not agree whether it was a brilliant ruse or a valid enterprise.
Chief of Staff, Mota Gur, was skeptical and reported that he was ordered to prepare the war reserve-stores units for war. Chief of Military Intelligence, General Shlomo Gazit, was wondering whether the visit was a ruse, however complimenting Sadat on his speech. General Yanush Ben-Gal claimed it is "A dialog between deaf persons". General Raphael Eitan defended Sadat, and Minister of Defense, Ezer Weizmann, declared in a later meeting "the feeling is good."
Read the protocols of the dramatic General Staff meetings on November 21, 1977, three days after Sadat's landing in Israel, and on November 28, 1977.
The November 21 meeting "highly classified" protocol contains intelligence and strategic assessments of the General Staff's seniors. The meeting was chaired by General Mota Gur, with the participation of the General Staff Forum. The generals, all veterans of the Yom Kippur war and the big surprise, advised caution toward the man who launched that war four years earlier. General Shlomo Gazit, chief of Military Intelligence, opened the meeting, followed by an analysis of Sadat's speech and a general discussion, during which the General Staff generals raised questions regarding Sadat, his intentions, the chances of peace and the danger of war.