B’nai B’rith International commends Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for a requirement that all Egyptian students learn about the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. The updated information is in the textbook, “The Geography of the Arab World and the History of Modern Egypt.”
 
A similar Hosni Mubarak-era textbook from 2002 contained 32 pages about Egypt’s conflict with Israel, but only included three pages about the peace process. This new textbook limits the overall history to 12 pages and increases the peace section from three pages to four. A photograph taken at the White House during the signing of the Camp David treaty, which shows then-Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin standing beside then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter, is now in the book.  
 
While the textbook still has some problems, it’s a step in the right direction, especially the inclusion of the White House photo. We call on other Arab nations to emulate the Egyptian text book changes.
 
At the same time, el-Sisi gave a televised address encouraging Israel and the Palestinian Authority to directly discuss their peace plans, and he said he is willing to provide assistance in advancing peace talks.