{"id":5123,"date":"2020-09-16T12:30:29","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T00:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/israelinstitute.nz\/?p=5123"},"modified":"2022-06-14T15:44:08","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T03:44:08","slug":"peace-in-our-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/israelinstitute.nz\/2020\/09\/peace-in-our-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace in our time"},"content":{"rendered":"
It’s hard to ignore the public shifts in attitude between some Arab states and Israel. There are numerous theories about why the deals are taking place: some think it’s because of the Obama-led Iran deal emboldening the Islamic Republic and the Trump-era’s withdrawal from the region adding to the Gulf leaders’ fears; others put more emphasis on the lack of return on investment Gulf states have seen for their aid to the Palestinians; yet another theory is the Trump-Netanyahu threats of “annexation” and Arab states thinking they need to act.<\/p>\n
Whatever you think the primary reason(s) are for the deals, there’s no escaping the enormity of such peace in our time.<\/p>\n
The Arab League\u00a0first boycotted Jewish goods in 1945<\/a>\u00a0and evolved to a boycott of Israel after the establishment of the modern state. Over time, various elements of the boycott have eroded – especially after\u00a0the 1994 peace deal with Jordan<\/a>. And it has been\u00a0an open secret for some time<\/a>\u00a0that Israel has been talking with Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n So it could be said that the current Israel-UAE and Israel-Bahrain agreements have been a long time in the making. But the decision to formally sign agreements and the added steps of\u00a0including praise of the deal in textbooks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0advising hotels to provide kosher meals<\/a>, for example, are signs that there is a genuine desire for a strong relationship.<\/p>\n