Non-Aligned Countries held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975, which most severely
condemned Zionism as a threat to world peace and security and called upon all coun-
tries to oppose this racist and imperialist ideology,
Determinesthat Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.
[Note: The General Assembly repealed Resolution 3379 on December 16, 1991.]
SOURCE: United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine, http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/
A06F2943C226015C85256C40005D359C/761C1063530766A7052566A2005B74D1!OPENDOCUMENT.Camp David Peace Process
DOCUMENT IN CONTEXT
Egypt fought more wars—five, counting an undeclared “war of attrition”—with Israel
than any other Arab country, but in 1978–1979 it became the first Arab country to
reach a formal peace settlement and establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
The peace, often a cold one, was based on the practical self-interest of each party and
failed to lead to a broader peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Nevertheless,
the peace has held despite numerous strains and has helped prevent another full-scale
Arab-Israeli war.
In many ways, the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement flowed from the October 1973
War, the last one involving Israel and multiple Arab countries. Both sides claimed vic-
tory, but in reality neither side won a conventional victory. The war’s ambiguous
results forced leaders in Egypt and Israel to reconsider key aspects of their military and
political strategies (October 1973 War, p. 112).
The emergence of new leaders in the United States and Israel also brought new
momentum toward peace. In November 1976, former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter
won a close election as president of the United States. Although lacking foreign pol-
icy experience, he brought to office an idealistic vision of peace and justice in the Mid-
dle East and a hard-headed willingness to engage in the messy diplomatic work
required to transform such visions into reality. Six months later, in May 1977, Israeli
voters handed power to a right-of-center coalition headed by Menachem Begin. A for-
mer leader of Jewish guerrillas in the 1940s and a long-time advocate of the most hard-
line Israeli policies, Begin appeared to be an unlikely candidate to lead his country to
peace. His background, however, lent him the political strength necessary to make cru-
cial concessions.
The peace initiative came from another unlikely candidate: Egyptian president
Anwar al-Sadat, a former general and vice president who had assumed office follow-
ing the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1970 and who then launched the 1973 war
118 ARABS AND ISRAELIS