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Lot 12
Signed Photograph of Begin at White House State Dinner

BEGIN, MENACHEM. (1913-1992). Nobel Prize-winning Israeli prime minister. SP. (In Hebrew “M. Begin”). 1p. Oblong 4to. (Washington, D.C.), N.d. [possibly spring 1978]. A black-and-white photograph of Begin addressing a large group of guests in the White House State Dining Room with President Jimmy Carter seated next to him. Seated at the table nearby are Massachusetts Congressman and House Speaker Tip O’Neill, Senator Ed Muskie, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, and Saudi Arabian Envoy Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud.

A militant Russian Zionist, Begin survived torture in Vilnius’ Lukiškės Prison and enforced labor in a Russian gulag, eventually settling in the British Mandate of Palestine, where he became a prominent leader in the Jewish uprising to force the British to withdraw from the region. After Israel’s founding, Begin became an outspoken and indefatigable member of the Likud opposition party in the Knesset until his election as prime minister in June 1977.

Between 1977 and 1982, Begin visited the United States 13 times, visits classified by the State Department as, variously, official visits, working visits, informal meetings, and private meetings with President Jimmy Carter. Carter was keenly interested in reinvigorating the peace talks between Israel and Egypt, the central topic of discussion during Begin’s first official visit to the White House, several months after his election, on July 19, 1977. Begin returned to the White House for discussions with Carter March 21-23, 1978 and April 30-May 7, 1978.

Carter’s talks with Begin famously culminated with the Camp David Accords. From September 17-29, 1978, Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat held intense negotiations moderated by Carter at Camp David, the Maryland presidential retreat. Begin returned to the U.S. for official visits on March 1-4, 1979, and March 23-29, 1979, the latter meeting finalizing the two documents, A Framework for Peace in the Middle East and A Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. For the Camp David Accords, Begin and Sadat shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize, announced in October 1978. Begin remained prime minister until 1983 when he was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin.

Signed in blue ink in the lower right corner of the image. Mounted to a larger green sheet and in excellent condition, a most uncommon image. [indexhistory] [indexJudaica]

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