I’m filling in this morning for DeeQuilter who has been traveling, and arrived home just a couple of hours ago. I cannot do her passionate writing justice, so I’m just going cover a couple of things and then open it up for discussion.
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Today is the forty year anniversary of the signing of the 1978 Camp David Accords; the framework for the first ever peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, and one of the highlights of President Carter’s term in office.
CNN has a good timeline on the Accords:
November 9, 1977 - Sadat announces that he is "ready to go to the Israeli parliament itself" to resolve the conflict in the Middle East. This is despite the fact that the two countries do not have diplomatic relations and are technically still at war.
November 15, 1977 - Through the United States, Israel formally extends an invitation to Sadat to visit the country.
November 19-21, 1977 - Sadat makes a historic first visit by an Arab head of state to Israel. During the three-day visit, Sadat meets with Begin, addresses the Knesset, and lays a wreath at a monument to Israeli war dead.
December 2-5, 1977 - Representatives from
Syria,
Iraq,
Libya, Algeria, South Yemen and the Palestine Liberation Organization meet in Libya to discuss ways of stopping the Israeli-Egyptian peace process.
December 5, 1977 - Egypt cuts diplomatic ties with Syria, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen.
December 14, 1977 - Egypt hosts Israel, the US and the
United Nations at a peace summit in Cairo.
December 25-26, 1977 - Sadat hosts Begin at a summit in Ismailia, Egypt.
September 6, 1978 - The peace summit begins in Camp David, Maryland. After meeting formally on the first day of the 13-day summit, Sadat and Begin do not meet again during the negotiations. Instead, Carter acts as a go-between.
September 19, 1978 - The Egyptian Cabinet approves the agreement.
September 28, 1978 - The Israeli Knesset approves the agreement.
November 1978 - PLO leader Yasser Arafat travels to Moscow to discuss organized opposition to the agreement. The PLO and the Soviet Union release a statement describing the accords as "a collusion at the expense of and behind the backs of the Arabs aimed at helping Israel entrench [itself] on captured Arab land, including Palestine, and prevent implementation of the Palestinians' inalienable national rights."
March 26, 1979 - In a ceremony in Washington, Egypt and Israel formally sign a peace treaty ending 31 years of war between them.
www.cnn.com/...
As the timeline shows, it took a lot of work to create this historic agreement. Key peace seeking acts occurred by Egypt and Israel happened. Then the principal negotiating parties spent 13 days at Camp David to reach agreement on the framework. That was followed by months of work to iron out the details and get approval from the respective bodies in their countries. The signing of the treaty, as picture above, likely took scores of policy experts, and diplomats working behind the scenes to produce the documents.
It’s difficult to imagine the current President or his designated Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner being able to negotiate a peace treaty between any two countries.
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month!
During National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) we recognize the contributions made and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate their heritage and culture.
Hispanics have had a profound and positive influence on our country through their strong commitment to family, faith, hard work, and service. They have enhanced and shaped our national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community. www.hispanicheritagemonth.org/...
The celebration crosses two months because it’s meant to capture important dates in Hispanic history.
September 15th is the anniversary of the independence of 5 countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Those dates are quickly followed by Mexico on 9/16; Chile on the 18th; and Belize on the 21st.
October 12th, traditionally celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, is also known as Dia de la Raza in many Hispanic countries.
The alternative holiday celebrates the Hispanic heritage of Latin America and honors many of the countries that were conquered by Spain and other European explorers. During the Day of the Race, many Spanish-speaking countries like Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Uruguay and plenty of others recognize the people, traditions and cultures that were wiped out because of Columbus’ colonization.
www.theyucatantimes.com/...
To find out more about Hispanic Heritage Month, check out: www.hispanicheritagemonth.org/…
On a personal note, September 16th is not only Mexican Independence Day, (Viva Mexico!), it’s also my granddaughter’s birthday. I was at the birth, and I remember one of the nurses telling us that it’s one of the busiest days in the maternity wing. The waiting room was proof of it, filled with people, including some in early stages of labor, waiting for a room to open up.
Turns out my granddaughter is in good company!