News Currents Sr.

[1] In 1978, Anwar Sadat — AHN-wahr sah-DAHT — accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. What is this award? (An annual prize given to the person or group that has done great work to promote peace.) Sadat, the president of Egypt, shared this prize with Israel’s leader at the time, Menachem Begin — meh-NAKH-ehm BEY-ghin. But just a few years after winning the prize, Sadat was assassinated in Egypt. What does assassinated mean? (Killed for political reasons.) This assassination shocked the world. It also closed the book on Sadat’s remarkable life and career.

[2] Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat was born in Egypt in 1918. During this time, Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan were part of the same territory. It was called the Sultanate of Egypt, and you can see it here. Although King Farouk was supposed to be the leader of this area, the entire area was actually controlled by a European nation. Can you guess what nation this was? (Great Britain.)

[3] Upon joining the military, Sadat joined a secret group of officers trying to win independence for Egypt. This group thought that King Farouk was not fighting for his people. So, in 1952, this group started a revolution. Army members forced King Farouk from power. What is it called when a leader is kicked out of office? (A
coup — KOO.)

[4] The new government was led by this man here. His name was Gamal Abdel Nasser. He was a popular leader and was seen as a hero by many Arabs and Muslims around the world. Sadat served in Nasser’s government for a long time, and then took over the presidency in 1970.

[5] During this time, Egypt had been fighting with Israel for many years. Why do you think they were fighting? In 1967, Egypt and Israel fought a war against each other. It’s called the Six Day War, because Israel won it so quickly. But Egypt and Israel kept fighting even after the war ended. Many people in Egypt wanted President Sadat to continue to fight against Israel. But a growing number of Egyptians wanted peace. As his presidency continued, Sadat felt that Egypt would be better off if it could figure out a way to stop the violence between
the two nations.

[6] Sadat agreed to meet with Israeli leader Menachem Begin. This outraged some people in the Arab world and delighted some others. The two famously met with each other in the United States, in meetings hosted by the president of the U.S. Who was president in 1978? (Jimmy Carter, shown here between Sadat on the left and Begin on the right.) They met at a presidential retreat called Camp David, where they decided on a series of promises called the Camp David Accords. This led to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel — the first
such treaty between Israel and any Arab nation. Can you understand why this was a big deal?

[7] In 1978, Sadat and Begin traveled to Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. But some Muslims were angry that Sadat had made a deal with Israel. These people felt that he was betraying his religion. What do you think about this view?

[8] On October 6, 1981, Sadat attended a parade in Egypt’s capital city. What is this city? (Cairo.) During this parade, as he was standing near this platform here, a squad of gunmen shot and killed President Sadat, as well as 11 other people in the crowd. Sadat was later buried in this spot. But Sadat’s dream has lived on. Egypt and Israel have had some problems over the years, but have never again gone to war with each other. Do you think Anwar Sadat was a wise leader? Why or why not?