Omar of Arabia (and Israel)

From Ha’aretz: Celebrated silver-screen star Omar Sharif has claimed that he was responsible for bringing then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin together ahead of Sadat’s historic 1977 visit to Israel. In an interview this week with an Egyptian news Web site, the star of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia said […]

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From Ha’aretz:

Celebrated silver-screen star Omar Sharif has claimed that he was responsible for bringing then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin together ahead of Sadat’s historic 1977 visit to Israel.

In an interview this week with an Egyptian news Web site, the star of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia said Sadat called him and asked him to call Begin and ask him how a visit to Jerusalem would be received.

According to Sharif, he then called Begin who told him that Sadat would be greeted "like the Messiah."

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