The last month, since the end of the Israel-Gaza conflict, has brought important new developments in the region and between Israel and the Gulf. Gulf peace partners of Israel were quick to welcome the incoming government in Israel and there were conversations between the new Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Gulf counterparts. These are important symbols of the relationship between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain.
On June 11 in an important development the UAE was elected to the United National Security Council. Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan tweeted “Today the UN elected the UAE as one of five members to the Security Council for 2022-2023. We pledge that our team of dedicated diplomats will pursue the same spirit of global engagement and collaboration that has guided the UAE since its founding in 1971.”
Last week, The Jerusalem Post and Khaleej Times held a Global Investment Forum in Dubai. “The event brought together government officials, business owners, executives, philanthropists and thought-leaders to discuss the roadmap to creating an international economy,” organizers noted. “I have been working in the Gulf with OurCrowd and prior companies of mine for the last almost a decade and a half,” OurCrowd founder and CEO Jon Medved told the Jerusalem Post Magazine. “Today, I am able to work in ways I never could. The Abraham Accords are a complete game-changer.” Emirates News Agency noted “diplomats, Jewish community leaders and Emiratis discussed how Muslims and Jews in the region can work together to support each other at a Shabbat dinner hosted by the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC), the people-to-people network of Jewish communities in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, last weekend in Dubai….Ambassador Houda Nonoo of Bahrain, Marcy Grossman, Canadian Ambassador to the UAE; and Eitan Na’eh, Israel’s Head of Mission in Abu Dhabi, were all in attendance and spoke with the group, said a press release issued by the AGJC on Monday.”
On the Abraham Accords, Martin Kramer argued that it is important the current administration recognize their importance. Reports also revealed that the F-35 deal was important. Mike Pompeo has said this deal was critical to the accords.
Nave Shachar wrote at Al-Arabiya “on the dire need for & the benefits of collaboration between Israel & Gulf countries in sustainable development, #desertification,
#renewableenergy, #foodsecurity, water & solutions for climate crises. Join me in addressing these challenges….Now is the time for countries across the Middle East to come together and work on solving challenges related to climate change and afforestation,” writes Nave Shachar.
Israel’s KAN network also covered the possibility of an Eilat pipeline that might boost trade with the UAE, but also noted environmental concerns. Read more about the pipeline here.
GISEC took place in the UAE and many Israeli companies took part. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced a new cyber consortium. It comes on the heals of successful confabs such as IDEX and GITEX. GISEX is the Middle East and Africa region’s most influential and connected cybersecurity event. “The Ninth edition of the MEA region’s most influential cybersecurity event brings together more than 150 leading firms from over 30 countries,” organizers said."
In Israel tech companies continued record-breaking fund raising. Funding for start-ups in Africa is also at a new high, illustrating how developing regions, linked to the UAE and Israel are all benefiting.
The AJC is opening an office in the Gulf. The AJC also hosted a discussion with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. There was also another Gulf-Israel Women’s Forum meeting.
The Jerusalem Post covered a new Yeshiva in the UAE. “Students of the yeshiva began their visit in the UAE in Dubai, meeting with Senior Rabbi of Dubai Dr. Elie Abadie, who gave a class on Jewish laws concerning reciting a blessing when seeing a scholar or a king, each a likely occurrence in the Emirates. The rabbi also discussed life as a Jew in the UAE, which places coexistence and tolerance as central pillars of its value system.”
The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities continues its pioneering efforts. It has been hosting shabbat events and posting shabbat times. Diplomats attended these dinners over the past month.
In addition, an important event in the UAE took place in May 2021 that illustrates the spotlight the UAE is giving to tolerance, coexistence and memorializing the Holocaust. The United Arab Emirates’ Crossroads of Civilizations Museum developed a Holocaust Memorial exhibit and invited the country’s Jewish community to its opening. Israeli Ambassador to the UAE Eitan Na’eh and Ambassador Peter Fischer of Germany’s addressed the event.