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Dear Friend of EMET,
Tomorrow at 12 noon, the historic Abraham Accords will be signed. For the first time in 26 years, Israel will be entering into a Peace Agreement with a Sunni Arab nation. However, this event is even more momentous than when Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, or with Jordan in 1994. First of all, as you are aware, there will be two nations that will be signing agreements with Israel at the same time, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Secondly, as opposed to the peace with Egypt and with Jordan, this signifies a blossoming of relations that have been brewing “under the table” for years. Israel has never fought a war with either the UAE or Bahrain, and there is no historic memory of enmity. As Hend al Otaiba, the Director of Strategic Communications recently said, "The Emirati people feel enthusiastic about the establishment of relations with Israel. Levels of excitement are particularly high among younger generations — this historic move is a reflection of our country’s forward-thinking leadership and future-oriented vision for the region, and it is the youth of this region who will reap the greatest share of the economic, cultural, and scientific rewards that this cooperation will usher in over time.”
However, there are some people who represent the retrograde voices of the past. Unfortunately, some Israeli far left expatriates are planning to demonstrate against this historic peace accord, because of their sheer hatred for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and they are making common cause with far left wing Americans of all stripes, who will be demonstrating because of their sheer hatred for Donald Trump, the President of the United States.
For the former group, they have never heard the saying “Democracy stops at the water’s edge.” They should keep their domestic disputes with the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel at home. They have had ample chances,(three in the last two years), to elect someone else. And knowing the Israeli parliamentary process, they will most probably have yet another opportunity to again, in the not-too-distant future.
And for both groups: Please do not let your antipathy for our leaders overshadow a peace agreement that might signify the flowering of peaceful ties between Israel and her Gulf Arab neighbors. Do not allow your petty hatreds for our leaders or your clinging to the failed paradigms of the past overshadow what might well prove to be a peace that will endure, and make life substantially better for Emirati, Bahraini, and Israeli children for generations to come.
We have been asked by the head of another major Jewish organization to help gather a group of counter-demonstrators in support of the agreement.
If you are at all able to participate we urge you: Please come tomorrow, September 15th, at 10:30 a.m. for a demonstration in support of the Abraham Accord. Please meet at 10:30 at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C.
For more information, please contact Carol Greenwald at [email protected].
Thank you very much, and let’s pray for a peaceful, happy and healthy New Year.
Shana Tova,
Sarah Stern
President and Founder of EMET
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