1. We wanted a New Middle East – and we got a New Middle East. In September of 2020 though. Not then (Oslo), in September of 1993, or those bloody days in the 1990s when they threw sand in our eyes and told us the path to peace runs through a Palestinian state and numerous withdrawals from the land of our forefathers, all the while buses exploded in the background.
The various Nobel Peace Prizes that were handed out (including to Yasser Arafat) couldn't conceal the bluff either. The State of Israel on Tuesday signed a historic peace deal with the United Arab Emirates, the most progressive country in the Arab world today, and with its Persian Gulf neighbor, Bahrain, a very close ally of Saudi Arabia. You'd have to be truly naive not to understand that Saudi Arabia gave this treaty its blessing, and could even be close to joining as well as it hammers the final nails into the coffin of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
2. "Another five or six countries could join," US President Donald Trump revealed from the White House. This is incredible; really, nothing short of astonishing. The Israeli-Arab conflict, as we have known it since our inception as a sovereign state, is changing before our eyes. Yes, some pundits with sour faces said this development is nice and all, but not truly historic because relations with these countries existed anyway, as opposed to war. It's a shame they couldn't explain to us why these treaties weren't signed earlier. Maybe because they drove us crazy all these years with a false paradigm, whereby until we concede, and until we withdraw, and until we solemnly stand for the Palestinian national anthem, the Arab world would not recognize us? Could it be that the US president, Donald Trump, had the formula for doing it the right way? Do you remember how he was mocked as a presidential candidate? And how his deal of the century was derided? As the saying goes, he who laughs last, laughs best.
Perhaps the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, was on to something in A Place Among the Nations, the book he wrote 25 years ago, when he predicted peace with the moderate Arab world and the idea of peace through strength. And how badly has this prime minister been disparaged and dragged through the mud by the media and opposition? Who hasn't taken a swing? Apparently the Israeli public wasn't so stupid for voting him into office time and again. And yes, Netanyahu has secured his legacy.
3. "Israel is less isolated than ever," Trump said, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for former prime minister Ehud Barak, who probably changed the channel to Netflix at that very moment. Who said 2020 will forever be remembered as a terrible year? It is now in the same sentence as 1979 (peace with Egypt) and 1994 (peace with Jordan). Indeed, Netanyahu and we must still fight the coronavirus, but we have to bear in mind that this pandemic will one day be behind us.
In Washington on Tuesday, we took an important step toward defeating the virus of hatred afflicting our neighbors. We are not naive and we know it isn't eradicated. Perhaps to remind us of its existence, Hamas-based terrorists fired a barrage of rockets at Ashdod and Ashkelon as the dignitaries were delivering their speeches. This was the Palestinians' miserable way of reminding the world they exist. And it's regrettable, because they've had so many chances.
4. Trump isn't taking his foot off the gas. In his first term, he fostered rapprochement between Israel and the Sunni world. Now he's moving on to the really tough nut to crack – the Shiite world. Saudi Arabia, even if it hasn't formalized its own ties with Israel, spearheaded the change in the Sunni camp; and Iran will be the one to do so in the Shiite camp. It won't be easy but only a president like Donald Trump can be creative enough to arrange more and more ceremonies for us.
In his speech, Netanyahu encapsulated what we witnessed yesterday: The end of conflict with the Arab world, economic benefits that will reverberate across borders in the Middle East, and perhaps more importantly – this peace is between peoples rather than leaders, which is a huge distinction. It's no longer an exclusive club of peace for leaders and their immediate circles, but peace for all. We are already dreaming of flying there and visiting. "We're here this afternoon to change the course of history," Trump said from a balcony overlooking the South Lawn. "After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East.
5. And we can't end without mentioning sovereignty, which still is yet to come. Although the UAE's foreign minister praised Netanyahu for choosing peace and stopping the "annexation" initiative, he didn't say "canceling." And it was precisely for this reason that Trump chose to avoid the topic. Indeed, everything that happened in Washington on Tuesday is extremely promising, but we must keep in mind that while the peace treaties are a done deal, we still need Trump to stay in office over Joe Biden. Not just because he's good for Israel but because he's good for the Middle East in general. The paradigm espoused by Clinton, Obama and tomorrow, Biden, hasn't proven itself, to put it mildly.
Only something as crazy as the corona pandemic can quarantine us in our own country and simultaneously extract us from quarantine in our region. Thank you to the United Arab Emirates; thank you to Bahrain; thank you to the five or six countries waiting in the wings; thank you to President Donald Trump; and, if the protesters who sent their own delegation to Washington will allow, thank you also to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
