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Video: Israel and the Arabs Have Common Interests

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Dore Gold - Amb. Dore Gold discussed the relationship between Israel and the Gulf States at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv on Jan. 28: It is clear as day that Israel and many of the Sunni Arab states have common interests. The more westward you go, in the direction of Egypt, the interests are more in the direction of countering ISIS. The more eastward you go, you find that the common thread is Iran. We and the Arabs have incredibly close common interests. There's a desire always for public expression of that kind of identity of interest, but frankly we're doing very well working quietly. If we sometimes can have a public expression, it would be extremely useful because it would say to the Iranians, "You're not succeeding in vetoing the relationship between Israel and the Gulf states." Anyone who studied what influences Saudi Arabia knows it is their role as protector of the holy sites of Islam in the Hijaz. Jerusalem is a subject which they don't have a lot of specialization on. It is also a subject that they'd rather stay away from. I don't think that making Jerusalem the center of their attention is reflective of how the Saudi leadership would operate in the peace process. Their attention will still be drawn to the Iranian threat and their concern that the American defense umbrella may not be there in the future. The speaker, former director general of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Israeli ambassador to the UN, is president of the Jerusalem Center.
2019-01-30 00:00:00
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