Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin gave this speech “to the Egyptian people” from Jerusalem.
He said, “Citizens of Egypt, this is the first time that I address you directly, but it is not for the first time that I think and speak of you. You are our neighbors and always will be. …We, the Israelis, stretch out our hands to you. It is not, as you know, a weak hand. If attacked, we shall always defend ourselves.”
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s plan to visit Israel solicited this speech by Begin, who had succeeded Prime Minister Rabin after a surprise election victory.
