by Brett Manero
President Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29, 2024, at the impressive age of 100 years old. He served as the thirty-ninth President of the United States from 1977 until 1981, presiding over a nation that was recovering from the trauma of the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the massive social upheaval of the 1960’s and 1970’s. He was handily defeated in the 1980 election by Ronald Reagan, due to the struggling economy, Carter’s mishandling of the Iran hostage crisis, and undoubtedly Reagan’s tremendous charisma.
Carter’s legacy is complicated, without a doubt. Many agree that his Christian faith was very genuine, if many of his stances were in sharp disagreement with Catholic teachings. According to Catholic News Agency, Carter was a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity for almost forty years, a ministry that has brought massive amounts of relief to many across America (Peter Minedo, Ken Oliver-Mendex, Christian faith a hallmark of former president Jimmy Carter’s life, Catholic News Agency, December 29, 2024). His devotion to his faith and to Habitat for Humanity, and his remarkable work as a statesman, are commendable, even where he contrasted the Catholic Church are some of her most sacred teachings, especially in the areas of life and marriage.
Despite Carter’s obvious shortcomings later in his presidency, his miraculous work in brokering peace between Israel and Egypt in the famous Camp David Peace Accords are probably the most memorable of his term. In 1978, very much due to Carter’s intervention, Israel and Egypt put years (or from another perspective, centuries) of conflict behind them and made pace, the first peace between the modern State of Israel and an Arab nation in the Middle East (Camp David Accords, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Camp-David-Accords).
Why was the Peace Accord so significant? As noted, it was the first official peace treaty and normalization of relations between modern Israel and an Arab nation. After four wars between Israel and its neighbors (the 1948 War for Independence, the 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1967 Six Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War), hope for genuine peace in the Middle East now seemed feasible. Since 1948, Israel had been in regular conflict with Egypt and other Arab neighbours. One can even stretch this all the way back to c. 1400 BC, when the People of Israel departed from Egypt in the Exodus. This was one of the first stories in which a people escapes from slavery, much to the humiliation of mighty Egypt. Even in the drama of the Plagues and the Exodus, there was even then a glimmer of hope of peace between Israelities and Egyptians. The Book of Exodus tells us that, when the Israelities left Egypt in triumph, a significant crowd of Egyptians departed with them:
And the people of Israel journeyed from Ram′eses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very many cattle, both flocks and herds (Exodus 12:37-38).
This “mixed multitude” is often thought to be a group of Egyptians who, amazed by the power of the God of Israel in the Ten Plagues, choose to join in with Israel. Perhaps this was the first instance of reconciliation between Israel and a group of Egyptians following centuries of slavery induced by Egypt.
One can go even further back to the Book of Exodus, to c. 1800 BC, when Israel lived in peace in Egypt during the time of Joseph. Joseph, the great-grandson of the patriarch Abrahan, effectively becomes Prime Minister of Egypt through an extraordinary set of circumstances.
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are; you shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in his second chariot; and they cried before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:39-41).
Joseph’s rise to power is an act of God’s Providence, and the trust between Joseph and Pharaoh is genuine and is, perhaps, what the relationship between Israel and Egypt was always destined to be: one of friendship and brotherhood. Egypt is blessed by Joseph’s presence in Egypt, just as God promised Israel that all nations would be blessed by them. Israel and Egypt were never meant to be enemies, but brother nations, as exemplified by Joseph and Pharaoh. Only with a later Pharaoh who abandons the covenant with Israel, does the ugliness of slavery enter in, making these nations bitter enemies that continues for much of the Old Testament.
The Peace Accord of 1978, so many centuries after the time of Joseph and the Exodus, is a sign of how peace is possible when leaders and peoples humble themselves, put their differences aside, and agree to co-exist. What is also amazing about the Accord is that it has lasted since 1978, even in the midst of so many conflicts in the Middle East. Other Arab nations have followed suit and made peace with Israel since then, with hopefully more to come. As Catholics, we pray for the souls of all who have died, and we ought to pray for the soul of Jimmy Carter, and give thanks for the peace he helped to bring to our broken world.
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