It was the summer of 1979, 30 years ago, when I took my “big, after army trip” to explore the world with a few friends. At that time, India and South America were not yet popular among young Israelis and we were not that wild, so we ”just” bought an old Chevy station wagon and traveled without any special plans for eight months in the United States from coast to coast, from town to town. One Sunday morning, we drove around looking for a nature reserve or some forest to have an Israelistyle quiet picnic. After a while, totally by coincidence, we found a remote place in the wilderness. We unloaded our hummus and pitas and started to relax. Suddenly out of nowhere, two huge black cars stopped near by us and two enormous black bodyguards stepped out of each one. It felt like we were on a set of a cheap Mafia movie or even worse; in a real life crime scene. When one of the big guys approached us, we thought “this is it” and debated whether we should run away like cowards or fight for our lives, like we were taught in the army.

Surprisingly, the bodyguard was very polite, gentle, and accommodating. He told us with a smile that he has been coming there with “our” president every Sunday for the last several years and never had they seen other people in this remote forest. He didn’t ask who we were and how we spotted this hidden place but said that, now that it was discovered, they will probably have to switch locations. Even then, we didn’t understand what exactly was going on. Only when we saw President Jimmy Carter stepping out of the car in his jogging outfit, we understood and started to look for our cameras. The solid, charismatic, popular, legendary peace maker and leader of the free world was standing there in his sneakers, shorts, and tshirt, seeking to shake our sticky, hummus-covered hands before starting his weekly five-mile run. That day and for years afterwards, we felt lucky and privileged, as if we saw god himself. With time we realized that in real life, luck, privilege, and god mean other things than a coincidental hand shake with President Jimmy Carter.

Last week was the 30th anniversary of the signing of the historic peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The newspapers were full of stories, anecdotes, recollections, and memoirs of the people who were involved in the negotiations and shaped history. Some new facts from old archives were released and lots of comparisons to the current political situation were made. What amazed me most was the reconfirmation that leadership cannot be judged from narrow and short-term perspectives. Many times it takes several years, personal maturity, inside information, and a wider perspective in order to recognize a real leader. Yet we, average, jumpy people tend to ignore and forget this fact of life. Our Israeli personal and national character brings us to be very determined and decisive about our political leaders. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why we impatiently replace them every so often.

In the summer of 1979, I was a young cynical “after army” Israeli. For me, Menachem Begin was the prime minister that I didn’t vote for and didn’t like, Anwar Sadat was somebody I couldn’t fully trust, but Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, was the admired king of the free world. Both Begin and Sadat were perceived as somewhat weird, unstable characters, but Carter, on the other hand, was then, for me, the pure expression of solid, charismatic leadership (and this was even before his monumental, historic hand shakes with Begin, Sadat, and…me). Now, after 30 years, when the archives are opened, the behind-the-scene stories are told, and I am getting old, I confirm what I instinctively felt over the years: Begin and Sadat, may they rest in peace, each one in his own unique way, were two of the most solid, charismatic, courageous leaders in our history. Carter on the other hand, may he live long, was somewhat weird, pale, and unstable. Begin and Sadat were able to change the course of history by getting rid of their traditional thinking, swimming against the stream, and acting out of the box. They didn’t listen too much to their many aides and consultants but rather stuck to their inner drive, their vision, and the deep belief in peace to bring a better future for their peoples.

Exactly 30 years after that first peace treaty, another Israeli government is being formed and this time around Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, two very conservational leaders, are joining forces to lead the country. They both already served as Prime Minister for short and, many say unsuccessful terms. They were both faced with tremendous criticism about their personal behavior and many call them political failures. Yet the minister of history brought them together now to lead us in one of the most challenging times for our nation, and we should give them credit. We need to remember the lesson of perspective and not prejudge them. Begin and Sadat in 1979 exposed their leadership skills by taking courageous steps contradictory to their traditional roots, culture, expectations, and backgrounds. Netanyahu and Barak might do the same. After all, they are both post commanders at the IDF elite Special Forces unit, Sayeret Matkal. The motto of this unit is: “Who dares win.”