The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs marked the “30th Anniversary of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty“.

“Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat shook the hand of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and, under the patronage of US President Jimmy Carter, a new era began in the Middle East. Even today, the peace treaty is considered a watershed event in the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, opening the gateway to peace between Israel and the Arab world, and ushering in a new agenda of diplomatic relations in the region..” Read the whole article

Update:  IsraelPolitik also ”tweeted” and blogged – “30 Years of Peace With Egypt“; also see Kenneth Stein’s article at the Washington Institute, Policy Watch #1496 “The Egyptian-Israeli Peace: Lessons for Today“.

Update: From the White House, “March 26, 2009  “STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN EGYPT AND ISRAEL” …

” Today marks the anniversary of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, signed thirty years ago at the White House. As we commemorate this historic event, we recall that peace is always possible even in the face of seemingly intractable conflicts. The success of Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat, and President Carter, begun at Camp David, demonstrated that progress results from sustained efforts at communication and cooperation. While much work remains, we honor the courage and foresight of these leaders, who stood together in unity to change the course of our shared history. Today, as we seek to expand the circle of peace among Arabs and Israelis, we take inspiration from what Israel and Egypt achieved three decades ago, knowing that the destination is worthy of the struggle.”

UPDATE:  Joel Rosenberb’s Weblog commented in “ISRAEL, EGYPT MARK 30 YEARS OF PEACE: 1979 was a game-changing year in the epicenter” that

..”The year 1979 was a game-changer in the epicenter for Radicals, Reformers and Revivalists alike…” Read the whole thing

Update:  The Israel Project: “Israel and Egypt: 30 Years of Peaceful Relations“, including a  Timeline of Israel-Egypt Bilateral Relations.  An article in the Jerusalem Post: “While Israel celebrates, Egypt stays quiet” noted that

…”The Israeli embassy in Egypt, along with Egyptian experts, said they too were not aware of any ceremonies, receptions or events – other than television and other media coverage – to mark the signing of the historic Camp David Accords”…

Elder of Ziyon’s Blog “Israel celebrates, and Egypt despises, peace anniversary“, saying in observation

“..Apparently, the tens of billions of dollars that the US sends to Egypt as compensation for signing Camp David has not made the Egyptians any more amenable to real peace..” Read the post

UPDATE:  Yisrael Medad of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center was recently interviewed by by Jimmy DeYoung of Prophecy Today about the anniversary : ”Camp David Accords” (LISTEN TO MP3).

Medad has blogged at the Begin Center Diary, of which were two recent articles about the Camp David Accords anniversary:  The first, “Menachem Begin Heritage Center Bulletin, (Vol. 5, No. 22 19 March 2009) APPROACHING 30 YEARS SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE PEACE TREATY” and second, “Yehuda Avner on the Egypt  Israel Peace Process Essay: With undue credit” Mar. 19, 2009 Yehuda Avner, THE JERUSALEM POST.   

The Menachem Begin Heritage Center Bulletin’s “APPROACHING 30 YEARS SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE PEACE TREATY“, said there were various events in honor of the anniversary, including …

…”the Truman Institute in cooperation with Hebrew University, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israel’s Government, are hosting a conference on 25 March. The event will be opened with remarks from the US Ambassador to Israel, Mr. James Cunningham. The first panel will be chaired by Prof. Menachem Milson of Hebrew University and the panel participants will be Dan Pattir, who was on the negotiating team and was a media advisor to Begin, and Dr. Meir Rosenne, who was a legal advisor to Israel’s foreign ministry and was subsequently Ambassador to the US and France. The second panel will be chaired by Moshe Arad, former Ambassador to the US, and the panel participants will be Egypt’s Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Yasser Reda, and Israel’s Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. Shalom Cohen. The third panel will be chaired by Prof. Steven Kaplan and panel participants will be Prof. Eli Podeh and Prof. Ya’acov Bar-Siman-Tov, all of whom are of the Hebrew University…” 

..”The Knesset confirmed the date March 30 for their commemoration-a special session where the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition and the leaders of the parties will all speak. After the session, Members of Knesset and other VIPs will attend a reception in the hall where the Making Peace Exhibition will be situated. The Speaker of the Knesset will speak. It is also by invitation and closed to the public..” Read the whole thing.

The Truman Institute’s International Peace event marking the Truman Institute’s 40th Anniversary included speeches given by Tzippi Livni and George Mitchell, each noting the Israel-Egypt peace agreement.

“Watch the Truman Peace Event “The Quest for Peace in the Middle East“.  View the video: http://multimedia.huji.ac.il/video/bog2008/truman.html

Speakers included: Simone Veil, first President of the European Parliament, former French Minister of State and Truman Peace Prize Laureate (1991). Click here to read Simone Veil’s speech; MK Tzachi Hanegbi, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and former Government Minister. Click here to read Tzachi Hanegbi’s speech; George Mitchell, former US Senator and Truman Peace Prize Laureate (1999). Click here to read Senator Mitchell’s speech. and Tzipi Livni, Israel’s Foreign Minister and head of Kadmina, the largest party in Israel’s parliament. Click here to read Tzipi Livni’s speech.“