Four decades of cold diplomacy: Egypt-Israel peace was never real - opinion

In March 1979, as Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin shook hands on the White House lawn, the world cheered. Egypt had become the first Arab country to recognize Israel. A landmark moment, a Nobel Peace Prize, and a formal treaty, yet over 45 years later, one thing remains clear: There was no real normalization.

The headlines called it peace, but for millions of Egyptians, it felt like betrayal. They didn’t just dislike the treaty; they wept over it. They poured into the streets chanting slogans of rage and defiance. Arab media branded Sadat a traitor.

Five days after the treaty, Egypt’s membership in the Arab League was suspended; that tells us all we need to know. In truth, the peace was strategic, not social, not cultural, and certainly not heartfelt.

While embassies opened and ambassadors exchanged pleasantries, the soul of Egyptian society remained firmly anti-Israel. Egyptian media, academia, religious institutions, and street culture never followed the government’s lead. Cairo signed a treaty, but the Egyptian people never signed on to peace.

Fast forward to today and little has changed. Egypt and Israel cooperate on intelligence, security, and gas deals, but the relationship remains cold, rigid, and transactional.

Engaging with Zionism 

Egyptian law still allows for the revocation of citizenship for individuals who engage with Zionism. Professional syndicates ban interaction with Israelis.

In schools and universities, Israel is still viewed through a hostile lens. And in the streets, in 2011, as Egyptians rose during the Arab Spring, protesters chanted: “Generation after generation, we will remain your enemies, Israel.”

In 2023, the same chants returned to Cairo during the Gaza war. What does that tell us? It tells us that the peace treaty was never rooted in reconciliation. It was survival. Sadat wanted Sinai back and to pivot to the West. Israel wanted security on its southern front. Both got what they wanted, but never what they needed: mutual trust.

Even Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, seen as a pragmatic partner to Israel, recently revealed the limits of normalization. In an Arab League summit this month, he declared that “true peace will never exist” until a Palestinian state is established. Translation: we’ll keep cooperating, but don’t expect real normalization. And he’s right, from Egypt’s perspective. The treaty never softened Egyptian hostility toward Israel. It merely froze it.

Even when Egypt signed economic and agricultural agreements with Israel, they were largely under the radar. Tourism? Minimal. Cultural exchanges? Virtually nonexistent. Military coordination in the Sinai? Yes, but under tight secrecy. Because the Egyptian public would never tolerate open embrace of the enemy.

Misrepresented treaty

Many in the West don’t realize this, but the Israel-Egypt treaty has been misrepresented for decades as a model of successful Arab-Israeli peace. That’s dangerously naive. If normalization is the goal, true normalization that brings societies together, builds bridges, and ends hate, then the Egypt-Israel example is a warning, not a blueprint.

Israel cannot afford to confuse silence for support, or official treaties for genuine reconciliation. If peace does not take root in the hearts of people, it will wither in the hands of politicians.

Israel was right to seek peace, right to secure its borders, and right to value diplomacy. But the hope that Egypt would become a friend, not just a partner, was misplaced.

For over four decades, Israel has extended its hand, while Cairo extended only cooperation. Strategic and essential but not emotional, not cultural, not public. It’s time to stop pretending this was normalization. It wasn’t.

Hope is not lost

Despite the hostility, not all hope is lost. A younger generation of Arabs, especially those exposed to social media, travel, and education abroad, are less interested in the old hatreds. The Abraham Accords proved that when peace comes with transparency and shared prosperity, real normalization is possible.

However, Egypt never followed that path. Its peace with Israel was a transaction, not a transformation. Until Arab societies confront the decades of anti-Israel indoctrination in their media, schools, and religious institutions, no treaty will truly normalize anything.

The Israel-Egypt treaty is often celebrated in Western capitals. But in Cairo, it’s still a source of shame, resentment, and denial.

If we want real peace in the Middle East, it cannot be forced, faked, or forged behind closed doors. It must be built slowly, honestly, and with the courage to challenge narratives that keep hatred alive.

Until then, the Israel-Egypt normalization remains what it has always been, a cold peace wearing the mask of diplomacy.

The writer, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx.