This article is the second part in a series about the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
On September 15, 2020, something momentous occurred in the tumultuous Middle East. Something momentously good—for once. It was the signing of the Abraham Accords Declaration by the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain.
While the previous article focused on relations between the UAE and Israel, this article examines the road to peace between Israel and Bahrain. The official name of the accord between Israel and Bahrain is the “Abraham Accords: Declaration of Peace, Cooperation, and Constructive Diplomatic and Friendly Relations.”
How it began
Since Bahrain’s independence in 1971, the tiny oil-rich Persian Gulf state participated in the Arab World’s boycott of Israel. Relations first began to thaw when Bahrain sent representatives to the Madrid Conference of 1991, which was hosted by Spain and cosponsored by the US and the Soviet Union to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
By 1994 relations had warmed enough that Israel sent its first official delegation to Bahrain when Yossi Sarid, Israel’s Minister for the Environment at the time, took part in regional discussions about environmental issues. Sarid also met Bahrain’s foreign minister. Trade missions were opened in both capitals after the first Oslo Accord, but were shuttered following the Al-Aksa Intifada in 2000.
Deserting the boycott
As with the UAE, Israel and Bahrain maintained covert relations. In fact, Wikileaks cables in 2011published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that in 2005 Bahrain’s king boasted to the US ambassador to Bahrain that his country had contact with the Mossad, Israel’s primary intelligence agency. Al Khalifa also indicated that Bahrain was prepared to develop relations with Israel beyond intelligence cooperation. Possibly to prepare the Bahraini
population for eventual relations with Israel, the king gave orders that official statements should avoid using phrases such as “enemy” and “Zionist entity” when referring to Israel.
Nevertheless, he demurred on establishing trade relations until the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Normalization quickly becomes normalized
In 2005 Bahrain abandoned its boycott of Israel in exchange for a free trade agreement with the US. In 2017 the king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, denounced the Arab League’s boy of Israel, going so far as to permit Bahraini citizens to visit Israel despite the two countries having no diplomatic relations.
This came on the heels of a video of a ceremony marking Hanukkah hosted by Bahrain, which went viral in 2016. In 2018 Bahrain went so far as to recognize Israel’s right to exist, although it was reported this was due to tensions with neighbouring Iran and was later refuted by Bahrain, which remained committed to the Arab Peace Initiative.
Al Khalifa continued the momentum toward normalization with Israel when in June 2019 six Israeli media outlets received formal invitations to cover an Israeli-Palestinian economic workshop in Bahrain. This was followed the next month by Bahrain’s foreign minister, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, who met with his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, in the US. In October, an Israeli official attended the “Working Group on Maritime and Aviation Security” in Bahrain’s capital, Manama. Then, in December Israel’s chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, visited Bahrain for an interfaith event.
The peace
It is hardly surprising, then, that Bahrain agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, which became official on September 15, 2020. Even before the establishment of full diplomatic relations with Israel, Bahrain went out of its way toward creating warm relations. The Bahraini foreign minister was quoted saying “Israel is part of this heritage of the whole region, historically. So, the Jewish people have a place amongst us.”
About Bahrain
Tiny Israel is large compared to teeny tiny Bahrain. An island nation, Bahrain is comprised of a small archipelago of 51 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, all centered around Bahrain Island. The country is situated between the Qatari peninsula and is connected by a 16-mile bridge to Saudi Arabia. The population is about 1.2 million, half of whom are non-nationals. At 300 square miles, Bahrain is the third-smallest nation in the world after the Maldives and Singapore.
Economy
Thanks to an early kickstart driven by petroleum products, Bahrain has been diversifying its economy, which is one of the fastest growing in the Arab World. Bahrain also has one of freest economy in the Middle East. Bahrain is a major financial services center, particularly in Islamic banking. Bahrain is heavily dependent on food imports, partly because of its tiny size and mostly desert landscape. Israeli agriculture technology will certainly be an area for cooperation. Bahrain does not invest much in research and development, which is another area where its newest friend among in the region, Israel, can lend assist.
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