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The Emirati and Bahraini Agreements with Israel Are Revolutionary

(Foreign Policy) Varsha Koduvayur and David Daoud - The UAE and Bahrain deals with Israel set the stage for a sea change in Arab-Israeli relations, as ties between Israel and the Gulf have grown exponentially in recent years. Because the UAE and Bahrain are regional business hubs, the two peace deals will facilitate interactions between Israelis and thousands of expatriate workers from across the Arab and Islamic world whose home countries have hostile relations with Israel, if any. Even if the process is incremental, creating a space for these populations to interact with each other for the first time as real human beings - away from hostilities, mutual recriminations, and governmental propaganda - will have a revolutionary impact on all sides, and on regional peace. The Emirati and Bahraini agreements with Israel upend decades of stifling status quo and fruitless political orthodoxies that have failed to advance the cause of a genuine, positive peace. In time, the Gulf's embrace of Israel could even encourage Egypt and Jordan to move toward a warmer peace with the Israelis. Varsha Koduvayur is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. David Daoud is a research analyst at United Against Nuclear Iran.
2020-10-01 00:00:00
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