The Blogs: Neuroplasticity, Sadat, Begin & the Path to Peace

Neuroplasticity, Sadat, Begin and the Path to Peace

Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to change and adapt as a result of experience. Two types of neuroplasticity have been found to occur. They are:

Functional Neuroplasticity describes the brain’s ability to move functions from a damaged area of the brain to an undamaged area.
Structural Neuroplasticity denotes the brain’s ability to change its structure as a result of learning. This includes the learning coded in the nerve cells and the connections among the nerve cells that facilitate various types of understanding and behavior.

Once established through learning, attitudes and behaviors to various life events develop. It is not a simple process for new learning to modify previously accepted and internalized information. When a mindset is formed, individuals may disregard information that contradicts earlier beliefs, which can make change more difficult. However, the human brain under certain circumstances can develop neuroplasticity to effect change. People who change their attitudes and travel a new path that may lead from malevolence to benevolence can make significant contributions to their societies and to other groups with which they come in contact. Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin were such people who experienced this change in mindset and made significant contributions to peace because of it. Reviewing aspects of their life histories provides a roadmap as to how this path from malevolence to benevolence can be traveled.

Anwar el-Sadat (biographical information from book (In search of Identity, Harper & Row Publishers 1977)

Anwar Sadat was born in a rural village in the Nile Delta. Anwar was one of thirteen siblings. He was taught to read and write Arabic and to learn the Koran by heart in the village Koranic Teaching school in his village of Mit Abul-Kum. Sadat stated that in the village school a teacher instilled in him a love of learning and a spirit of true faith. Anwar’s grandmother told him many bedtime stories. It was the Ballad of Zahran that influenced him the most. The story involved a stray bullet during a pigeon hunt by British soldiers that ignited a wheat silo. The farmers ran after the British soldier and as a consequence of the ensuing scuffle the soldier died. Zahran was the hero of the battle, The ballad dwells on Zahran’s courage and doggedness. It concludes with how he walked with head held high to the scaffold, feeling proud that he had stood up to the aggressors and killed one of them. So, even before Anwar had personal contact with the British occupiers, he learned to hate them because they “whipped and killed our people.” He also remarked that he developed a love and admiration for anyone trying to liberate his land.

Anwar graduated from military school in Egypt. He developed the “Free Officers Association” (FOA) which expanded to become a hub of discussion regarding the future of Egypt.

Due to Anwar’s belief that it was critical that the Egyptian people should be free from the yoke of British rule and the monarchy, he became involved in two “terrorist” plots. During World War II, he established contact with two individuals who were German spies posing as Egyptians. The spies asked him to keep two transmitters, so they could communicate with Rommel. The plot was uncovered by the British and the three conspirators were jailed. Anwar denied involvement in the plot although the two spies testified against him. As a result of not confessing, Anwar was jailed and not executed. A second plot involved an assassination plot where Anwar was not the shooter. However, he was jailed for years, but again talked himself and his co-conspirators out of a more severe sentence. Moreover, during his time in jail Anwar was able to read many books from the “west” and he taught himself several languages.

On release from prison, Anwar was reinstated as an officer. He renewed his friendship with Nasser who had become head of the FOA. A bloodless coup soon ensued, so that British rule over Egypt ceased and King Farouk was caused to leave. Subsequently, Nasser became President of Egypt. Nasser also became a leader of the surrounding Arab nations. Anwar was appointed Vice President in Nasser’s administration and remained loyal to the President. Amir was maintained as head of the military and also exercised much political authority. As an example, Amir was mainly responsible for the nationalization of many Egyptian corporations and private holdings.

Due to hatred of Jews and desire for the land of Israel, Nasser spearheaded the 1967 six-day war that was a disaster for Egypt, due to the pre-emptive strike by Israel and the apparent poor training of the Egyptian military. The defeat was a source of humiliation for the Egyptian people that was enhanced by the criticisms of others around the world regarding the ineptness of the Egyptian military. Amir committed suicide, apparently feeling responsible for the defeat in the war.

Nasser died 09/28/1970 of an apparent heart attack. Anwar who was Vice-President took over as President. He survived political challenges from other previous administration members and gained much support from the Egyptian people. However, he was keenly aware of the need to improve the Egyptian military and do something about the loss of the Sinai Peninsula and the closing of the Suez Canal. He, however, preferred to recover the Sinai peacefully. So, two plans for recovery were developed in succession. First, there was the Rogers Plan that Israel and the USA did not act upon and Sadat’s own plan that resulted in similar non-action. As a result, Sadat felt he had no other option but a military one.

Likely, as a consequence of Anwar’s early Islamic teachings and the ongoing conflict between Arabs and Israel, Anwar was quoted to say on 4/25/1972, “I promise to crush Israel and return it to the humiliation and wretchedness of the Koran.” Indeed, he tricked Moshe Dayan by faking to start the war twice. The third time he transmitted Egyptian war preparations that were also considered saber rattling by Dyan; it was not. There were many casualties on both sides. The Egyptian army successfully crossed the Suez Canal and proceeded to advance into the Sinai Peninsula. Anwar’s young brother was a pilot and killed in the early days of the war. Premier Golda Meier appealed to the President of the USA for assistance. It was the largest military airlift ever recorded and included armaments never previously used in war including “smart bombs.” As a consequence of the airlift, Anwar remarked that he could fight Israel but not the USA and the new technology supplied to Israel. The result was a cease fire agreed to by Egypt and Israel.

The initial battles won by the Egyptians in the 1973 war are still celebrated by Egyptians annually. They felt that the humiliation of the loss in the 1967 six day war had been overcome. However, for Anwar Sadat, this was not a solution to the mistrust and suspicion between the Arabs and Jews. That was why a peaceful solution was not pursued or thought possible by Israelis before the Yom Kippur War. They thought Sadat was as entrenched an enemy as Nasser. That was not true, as evidenced by many of Anwar’s declarations such as:

Sadat referred to a “Psychological Barrier.” I mean that huge wall of suspicion, fear, hate and misunderstanding that has for so long existed between Israel and the Arabs.
He who cannot change the fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality and will never therefore make progress.
War can never be the solution; it only brings more pain and suffering to innocent people.
This fundamentalism is not religion. It is obscenity. These are lies, the criminal use of religious power to misguide people.
Peace does not mean the absence of conflict, but the ability to resolve it peacefully.
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
The soul of a nation lies in the hearts of its youth; let us nurture them and lead them towards a brighter future.
Let us use education as a tool to eradicate poverty, ignorance and extremism from our society.

Menachem Begin’s life experiences give some indication of his actions and attitudes (See: MENACHEM BEGIN. Charles River Editors, 13 April 2024).

Menachem Begin’s father raised Menachem in a home environment of both Orthodox Judaism and Zionism. Consequently, Menachem became a passionate Zionist at a young age. Additionally, since Menachem’s family lived in the town of Brest Poland that later became part of Russia, they became exposed to the increasing antisemitism developing in Europe and Russia. Menachem was arrested and imprisoned in Russia due to his vocal Zionism. After release, Menachem joined the “Anders Army” of Poland that was assigned to help the British in Palestine. On arrival in Palestine in 1942, most of the Jewish soldiers, including Begin, took the opportunity to desert and assimilate with the local Jewish population. Menachem soon joined the Irgun and quickly took command of the militant group. He led the group with the idea that militancy was the only way to push the British out. Most violence manifest as bombings was carried out against civil targets. A terrible blunder was the blowing up of offices of the British Mandate at the King David Hotel erroneously during working hours killing 91 people. More violence apparently broke the spirit of the British military, resulting in their handing over management of Palestine to the United Nations. Begin stayed in hiding, until the British withdrew in April 1948. The Irgun was incorporated into the IDF, although there was a violent confrontation between the Irgun members who were bringing arms to the Jerusalem Brigade of the Irgun and the Hagenah. Begin told his men not to fire back at the Hagenah who used artillery against the ship carrying arms. Begin subsequently switched to politics and eventually formed the Likud Party after the Yom Kippur 1973 war. Begin had been very critical of the lack of preparation for the Yom Kippur War and stressed the need to confront terrorism from the PLO. Begin was always an eloquent and persuasive speaker. The Likud Party that Begin formed accomplished a landslide victory in the 1977 elections, so that Menachem Begin became Prime Minister and Likud became the party of government. Many of Menachem Begin’s quotes illustrate his political positions and goals for the people of Israel. Examples include:

Israel will not transfer Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District to any foreign sovereign authority, [because] of the historic right of our nation to this land, [and] the needs of our national security, which demand a capability to defend our State and the lives of our citizens.
… Jerusalem was and will for ever be our capital, Eretz Israel will be restored to the people of Israel. All of it. And for Ever.
The difficulties of peace are better than the agony of war.
No more wars, no more bloodshed and no more threats.
Free women and men everywhere must wage an incessant campaign so that these human values become a generally recognized and practiced reality. We must regretfully admit that in various parts of the world this is not yet the case. Without those values and human rights the real peace of which we dream is jeopardized.
There will be no fraternal strife while the foe is at the gate.
Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine. It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth. Peace is all of these and more and more.

The Path to Peace Between Egypt and Israel After the Yom Kippur War After the Yom Kippur War, there was a ceasefire and later disengagement agreements were signed in 1974 and 1975 with the aid of shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Full peace, however, was not yet achieved. As it turned out, first Begin and then Sadat happened to meet with the President of Romania. Sadat asked President Ceausescu, “Can an extremist like Begin really want peace? “Let me state categorically to you, Ceausescu reiterated, “that he wants peace.” Sadat received this information and returned to Egypt, where he delivered a speech to the People’s Assembly. There Sadat stated that he would go to the end of the world, not excluding Israel, in order to avoid the unnecessary wounding, not to mention killing, of a single soldier. The word rapidly reached Begin and an invitation to come to Israel and speak at the Knesset was quickly sent out. Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem was a truly historic one. Israelis had never heard an Arab leader speak in such a congenial manner to them. Further discussions occurred with President Jimmy Carter brokering the talks. The agreement stipulated that Israel would withdraw completely from the Sinai Peninsula within three years, while Egypt would establish peaceful relations with Israel. The fact that further discussions concerning the West Bank and Gaza would be held was also mentioned. The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in March 1979. That peace has been maintained until the present day. On December 10, 1978 Sadat and Begin shared the Nobel Peace Prize. Sadat in Egypt continued to work aggressively on civil matters improving the economy and building schools and hospitals. Unfortunately, there was a rise in Radical Islam with a particularistic extremist philosophy. Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981. Begin, clearly as a sign of respect for Anwar Sadat, walked 5 miles in order to attend the funeral. He did so because driving is not permitted on the Jewish Sabbath, except for a life threatening emergency.

What Can we Learn from Sadat and Begin?

As youths both Sadat and Begin had in them instilled the motivation to fight for freedom. For Sadat it meant opposing the British who were viewed as oppressors and occupiers of Egypt. Later, it was Israel as the enemy who had defeated and humiliated Egypt in battle in 1967. This defeat was made up by the initial successes in the Yom Kippur War by Egypt. For Begin Israel was the eternal inheritance of the Jewish people who had suffered much in exile. Violence seemed to be the only way to achieve the goal. Through their experiences, both men saw the pain and suffering and untimely deaths brought about by war. There had to be another way to achieve peace. That way was to break the barrier of suspicion and mistrust among the combatants, so that the stage could be set for satisfactory mutual agreements.
Sadat would have been satisfied to regain the lands lost in the Yom Kippur War by the Rogers or Sadat Plan. Failure to communicate well directly between the parties resulted in the time limits for both of these plans to expire. The barrier of mistrust and suspicion was still in place. The result was the Yom Kippur War with its many preventable morbidities and casualties. Sadat had said that he went to war to eliminate the idea that a buffer of land was adequate protection. In this day and age with destructive long range missiles, this concept is even more true. Achieving a secure, negotiated peace that enables cooperation for everyone’s well-being is essential and was the path followed by Egypt and Israel.
As far as neuroplasticity goes, both Sadat and Begin altered their conduct from violence to negotiation to obtain peace. This was quite a change for the two “terrorists” or “freedom fighters.”
For Begin, the path to peace seems somewhat limited due to his Biblical view of the land of Israel including Judaea, Samaria and Gaza being the rightful inheritance of the Jewish people. This is the crux of the matter today where violence continues on a daily basis for a number of reasons. Such roots of the conflict include extremist religious beliefs and failure of parties to come together in serious discussion. There is a need to address extremist religious philosophies by promoting views that emphasize respect for human life and mutual understanding and tolerance of individual differences. The assassination of Sadat who accomplished so much good is a dramatic example of the devastation that fundamentalist attitudes and groups can cause.

There is much to learn from the lives of Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. Countering extremism and violence while promoting communication and mutual understanding represent a path by which a peaceful Middle East could be constructed. Educating youth with the skills necessary to lead to peaceful engaged societies represents a vital manner by which to proceed.