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Abraham Accords Herald a New Normal for Israel, Arab Allies
(Jerusalem Post) Ahmed Charai - In November, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz arrived in Rabat to sign unprecedented security and intelligence agreements with Morocco, an event that would have been unthinkable two years ago. Since the Abraham Accords, trade between Israel and Morocco has surged by 50% in the first six months of 2021 alone. Arab investment in both Israel and the Palestinian territories is growing rapidly. Many Arabs in Iraq, Syria and Libya, courageously, without fear or hesitation, now say that they favor normal relations with Israel. The momentum for peace across the Arab world is real and growing. More than 60% of Arabs are too young to remember the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel, and many more consider them to be ancient history. As a result, young Arabs widely accept Israel's existence as a given and generally view trade with its thriving economy as essential to their own personal prosperity. We need a new regional order where Israel is a stakeholder and no longer a foreigner in its own region. This new regional order should not be seen as against anyone, but, rather, as beneficial to all. Security and prosperity demand peace between people. The U.S. should be urging and equipping Arab allies to roll back generations of rejectionist messaging in Arab media, mosques and schools. The writer, a Moroccan publisher, is on the board of the Atlantic Council and is an international counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.