...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, Egypt, Morocco send top envoys; amid tensions with new allies, FM Eli Cohen hails Abraham Accords as ’Israel’s greatest achievement’ in recent years
Against a backdrop of recent signs of frustration from Israel’s Arab partners, the Foreign Ministry hosted an iftar dinner Sunday evening for diplomats from Moslem countries serving in Israel and local Moslem leaders.
The ambassadors from Turkey and Egypt joined Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Director General Ronen Levy to end the day’s Ramadan fast, as did Abderrahim Beyyoudh, head of Morocco’s liaison office in Israel.
Notably, the ambassadors from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), did not attend, sending lower-level diplomats in their place. Jordan’s envoy Ghassan Majali also stayed away from the event.
Foreign Ministry officials insisted that every ambassador who was free to attend did so on Sunday, and that any absences were due to travel or scheduling conflicts. The ministry said that also in attendance Sunday were representatives from the embassies of Albania, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Tanzania, Chad and Azerbaijan, the latter two participating for the first time in the iftar meal at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.
The UAE, Bahrain and Morocco normalized ties with Israel as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords. There have been indications since the early days of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 3-month-old government — which includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners of his ruling right-wing Likud party — that the countries are pumping the brakes on the agreements, seemingly avoiding high-profile meetings. No senior Israeli officials have been invited to state visits in the three countries, and they have not sent senior representatives to Israel.
Moreover, the second Israeli-Arab Negev Summit, which was initially meant to take place in Morocco last month, has been delayed until after Ramadan. The inaugural Negev Summit in Sde Boker took place in March 2022, initiated and hosted by then-foreign minister Yair Lapid.
In a speech on Sunday at the iftar meal, Cohen said "Israel’s greatest achievement in recent years" was the signing of the Abraham Accords, which he said proved that "we can act together for the benefit of our people and improve the lives of millions in the region."
"The Abraham Accords brought about a change in the relationship with the governments and no less, with the people in the Middle East," said Cohen, adding that trade and tourism with signatories to the US-brokered accords were on the rise, allowing "many to enjoy the fruits of the historic peace."
Netanyahu has been eager to demonstrate his determination and ability to advance the Abraham Accords — which the Naftali Bennett-Lapid government was unable to do — by visiting the UAE early in his term. A Middle Eastern diplomat told The Times of Israel in February that those plans are on hold until Abu Dhabi sees what unfolds during Ramadan, when tensions can flare.
However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
there has been no significant progress expanding the accords and despite Netanyahu repeatedly saying he hoped to clinch a major normalization deal with Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, the influential kingdom has moved further away, instead renewing diplomatic ties with Israel’s arch-foe Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
and moving to restore relations with Syria.
The month-long fasting holiday began on March 23.
Meanwhile,
...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell...
Israel’s Arab partners have publicly condemned comments and actions by ministers in Netanyahu’s government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who in a speech in Gay Paree last month said the Paleostinian people were an "invention," speaking in front of a map that showed the "Greater Land of Israel," including Jordan. He also previously called for the West Bank town of Huwara to be "wiped out" following a terror attack there in which two Israeli brothers were killed. The far-right Religious Zionism politician has since apologized for the Huwara remarks.