President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100. Carter was a strong advocate for the right of Soviet Jews to emigrate, and he established the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, leading to the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993. In 1978 Carter worked with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to negotiate what became known as the Camp David Accords, leading to the signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt a year later. While Carter was central to this significant agreement, he later was criticized by many for his book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which was seen by many as inaccurate and unfair to Israel. Carter later apologized for some of his messaging, writing that “we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel,” and he went on to “offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so.” The Camp David negotiations had gone on for 13 days, but had reached a dead end, leading Prime Minister Begin to tell Carter that his bags were packed and he was going home. What did President Carter bring to Menachem Begin in his cabin at Camp David, which led Begin to agree to remain and finalize the Camp David Accords?

Camp David, Menachem Begin, Anwar Sadat, 1978  is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons

A. Carter brought one of his own personal Bibles which he autographed for Menachem Begin. Begin recognized the sacrifice made by Carter in giving away such a personal item, so he decided to accept Carter’s request that he remain a bit longer.

B. Begin had requested that Carter autograph pictures of Carter, Sadat, and Begin as gifts for his grandchildren. Unbeknownst to Begin, Jimmy Carter found the names of Begin’s eight grandchildren and personalized the signing of each picture. When Carter brought these to the Prime Minister, Begin was moved to tears by the personal nature of the gift so he unpacked his bags and went back to the negotiations.

C. Carter brought Begin a video of Carter teaching a Sunday School class at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. In the video Carter spoke of Moses dying before entering the Promised Land, and how Joshua succeeded him. Carter explained that God’s message was that there will always be other leaders to pick up the mantle of Moses’s leadership. Begin recognized that if he left, he would not be part of that Biblical legacy.

D. Carter brought a picture of himself and Chabad Rabbi Menachem Shemtov as Jimmy Carter lit the menorah at the first ever National Menorah Lighting in Lafayette Park. Begin was reminded by this photograph of how dedicated Carter was to the Jewish people, so he agreed to continue working towards an agreement.

E. President Carter brought Begin a bag of peanuts grown on Carter’s farm. Begin was unimpressed until Carter told him to be sure to eat them before Passover, as they were considered to be forbidden kitniyot. Begin was so impressed by Carter’s Jewish knowledge that he agreed to stay, and they proceeded to eat the peanuts while tossing the shells onto the floor.

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