For very long Bahrain has approached Israel as all Arab states do. The hostile, tired and drawn-out attitude we maintained did not work then, and will not provide results in the future. Luckily, our leadership has realized that it is necessary to change this policy. Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa announced today in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post that Arabs and Israelis must put their differences aside and engage in constructive dialogue. His Highness recognized that the Israeli public is reluctant to accept a peace agreement because they view Arabs negatively. As a result, he calls on Arabs to reach out to Israelis through their media outlets, in order to present Arabs as willing partners in any upcoming peace-talks.
But if Sh. Salman is willing to build bridges for peace, most Arabs are eager to burn them down. The response of Bahraini Parliamentarians won’t shock any of us. They will without a doubt denounce Israel and call any normalization of relations the Jewish state and Bahrain an impossibility. Huffing and puffing, they will shake their fists in the air and then depart, having achieved nothing. Another missed opportunity at peace. So goes the story of the Middle East!
Sh. Salman himself predicts this reaction in his editorial. He announces that those “equating communication with normalization, may think that we are moving too fast toward normalization”. But that is not the case, as he does not call for diplomatic relations but advises Arabs to engage the Israeli public. This, he says, will “move minds and gradually build a relationship of trust and mutual interest, without which long-term peacemaking is impossible”.
Furthermore, Sh. Salman is also trying to tell Arabs that Israel is a reality and won’t disappear. The Jews won’t pack and leave. Learn to live with it!!
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