Nearly every major leader of every country that visits Israel visits the Western Wall and Yad Vashem – Israel’s National Holocaust Museum. It is very rare to see Arab leaders visiting Yad Vashem. But the world is now a different place. Seeing Arabs – in kaffiyehs – saying the words, “Never Again,” should move anybody wo cares about the future of Israeli-Arab relations.
The Trump Administration and the Carter Administration have one thing in common. They engineered major peace agreements between Arab countries and Israel. Jimmy Carter is no friend of Israel, but he must be given credit for helping Egypt and Israel avert any further wars from 1979 onward. It hasn’t been a warm peace, but it has held.
Donald Trump helped Israel and the smaller Arab countries that have major economic incentives to work with Israel to sit at a table and make major economic agreements that would bring the countries together for a brighter future. Ten years ago, nobody would have thought that United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and hopefully soon – Saudi Arabia, would sit down and iron out agreements with the State of Israel to advance stability in the Middle East.
Arab leaders who visit Yad Vashem is an historic event – any way you look at it. Netanyahu, Trump, and especially the Arab leaders who have turned over a new page, deserve enormous credit for these giant steps forward in the Middle East.