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Israel and Egypt ·

Sadat's Visit to Jerusalem

A political visit with speeches in the Knesset – not an agreement; nothing was signed during it.

In 30 seconds

On 19 November 1977 Egypt's President Anwar Sadat landed in Israel, and the next day he addressed the Knesset. It was the first time an Arab leader came openly to Israel to talk about peace. The visit produced no agreement, but it opened the road to Camp David and the peace treaty.

Where it stands today

A historical event. The negotiations that followed led to the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979.

In one sentence

To break the psychological barrier and show that an Arab leader and Israel could talk directly and in public.

The challenge

Egypt and Israel had fought each other four times in 25 years. Even after the disengagement agreements, Israel held most of Sinai and no Arab state recognised it.

Behind the scenes there were secret contacts in Morocco between Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Hassan Tuhami1.

The road there

  1. Sadat tells Egypt's People's Assembly that he is ready to go to the Knesset; Begin sends a formal invitation and Sadat accepts by letter1.
  2. Sadat lands in Israel for a visit of about 36 hours, most of it in Jerusalem1.
  3. Sadat visits Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Yad Vashem, and addresses a special sitting of the Knesset; Begin replies1.

The people

Negotiated
Moshe Dayan

What was said

  • Sadat called for an end to the occupation of the territories taken in 1967, including Arab Jerusalem2.
  • He demanded self-determination for the Palestinians, including a state, and said the Palestinian question was the core of the conflict2.
  • He rejected a separate Egypt–Israel peace, but said Egypt accepted Israel as a neighbour in a permanent peace based on justice, with secure borders and guarantees for all states2.
  • Begin replied that Israel had always wanted peace, and proposed negotiations between equals with no preconditions3.
  • Begin also invited Syria, Jordan and Lebanon to negotiate, and rejected the claim that Israel had taken foreign land3.
  • Begin described a peace with ambassadors and open borders3.

Read the document

The geography

100%
Schematic map of Israel and its neighbours with line typesWest BankJerusalemTel AvivRamallah

Choose a country on the map or in the list. Use + and − to zoom. On touch screens, enable gestures to drag and pinch; scroll the page outside the map. Keyboard: arrows to pan, + and − to zoom, Home to reset.

Layers · Legend
  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Classification follows the original research as of 7 Oct 2026. This schematic map is not a legal boundary map or a live update.

  • International boundary agreed in a peace treaty
  • Treaty line with Jordan, “without prejudice to the status” of the territory beyond it
  • 1949 armistice line (“Green Line”) — not an agreed final border
  • “Blue Line” — UN line of withdrawal (2000), not a border
  • Ceasefire / disengagement line with Syria (1974)
  • Other international boundary
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip: permanent status not agreed
  • Golan Heights: held by Israel since 1967; annexation not recognised by the UN
  • UN area of separation (UNDOF)

Schematic map. Lines are approximate and are not a legal determination. Data: Natural Earth (public domain), 1:10m scale; line classification and place names by this site. Lines as of October 2026. Peace map

The hard decisions

  • Sadat broke an Arab taboo: he came to Israel, addressed its parliament and recognised it in public2.
  • The two speeches showed how far apart the positions were – above all on the Palestinian question and on Jerusalem23.

What remains open

  • The visit showed that a leader's personal gesture can change what seems possible. The gaps themselves were bridged only after long months of negotiation, with American mediation.

Photos, videos and quotes

In the spirit of the Nobel Prize tradition we gave to each other the most momentous pledge: No more war. No more bloodshed. We shall negotiate and reach agreement.

Menachem Begin · Nobel Lecture, Oslo, 10 December 1978. Begin presents the words as a pledge he and Sadat gave each other – so the wording predates the peace treaty signing ceremony.
Official Nobel Foundation text, in English; consecutive sentences. The translations are the site's own, not official texts.
Quote source: The Nobel Prize (Nobel Foundation)

I come to you today on solid ground, to shape a new life, to establish peace.

Anwar Sadat · Address to the Knesset, Jerusalem, 20 November 1977
Sadat spoke in Arabic. The text shown is the English translation published by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reproduced by the Jewish Virtual Library; the ministry's own page was not located. The Arabic shown here is the site's translation from the English, not Sadat's original words.
Quote source: Jewish Virtual Library, reproducing Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Yet, today I tell you, and declare it to the whole world, that we accept to live with you in permanent peace based on justice.

Anwar Sadat · Address to the Knesset, Jerusalem, 20 November 1977
Sadat spoke in Arabic. The text shown is the English translation published by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reproduced by the Jewish Virtual Library; the ministry's own page was not located. The Arabic shown here is the site's translation from the English, not Sadat's original words.
Quote source: Jewish Virtual Library, reproducing Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Click to load the YouTube player, or open the source.

19 November 1977 Iconic moment

SYND 19 11 77 EGYPT'S PRESIDENT SADAT ARRIVES AND IS GREETED

President Sadat's landing at Ben Gurion Airport and his reception, 19 November 1977 – raw archive footage. The description rests on the video title.

It was the first open visit by an Arab leader to Israel, only four years after the 1973 war. The visit opened the negotiations that led to the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979.

AP Archive · Opens on the source site in a new tab

Click to load the YouTube player, or open the source.

19 November 1977 Iconic moment

"השלום הוא בלתי נמנע": 42 שנה לביקור סאדאת בישראל | היום לפני

Sadat's visit to Israel, 19–21 November 1977 – a retrospective report by Kan News, Israel's public broadcaster, drawing on its archive, in Hebrew

This is how the visit looked to Israeli viewers: the Egyptian president's landing, his Knesset speech and Prime Minister Begin's reply. In under two days, what had seemed impossible became open negotiation.

כאן | חדשות - תאגיד השידור הישראלי · Opens on the source site in a new tab

Click to load the YouTube player, or open the source.

20 November 1977 Iconic moment

السادات أمام الكنيست الإسرائيلي: إن أرضنا لا تقبل المساومة، وليست عُرضة للجدل

Excerpt from Sadat's Knesset speech, 20 November 1977 – in Arabic, from the Egyptian television channel ON

Sadat addressed the Knesset in Arabic, and the speech was broadcast worldwide. Alongside his call for peace he set out the Arab demands: withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967 and a solution to the Palestinian question.

ON Live · Opens on the source site in a new tab

Sources

  1. Official archive Israel State Archives (via diplomatic-documents.org)
    "No More War": The Peace Plan of the Israeli Government and President Sadat's Journey to Jerusalem, November 1977
  2. Primary ibiblio (mirror of the speech text) · 20 November 1977
    President Anwar Sadat's Address to the Israeli Knesset, 20 November 1977
  3. Research Menachem Begin Heritage Center · 29 November 1977
    What Begin Told Sadat (Jewish Herald, 29 November 1977)

Further reading