Seven years after riots erupted on the streets of Tunisia in December 2010, which led to the downfall of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime and marked the beginning of the Arab Spring, unrest in Tunisia is resurfacing. Demonstrations and riots have broken out across the country, and on the island of Djerba, the local synagogue was set ablaze. The authorities were quick to arrest more than 1,000 protesters along with several opposition leaders, but they appear to have little hope of quelling the current wave of discontent.
The unrest in Tunisia began, similar to seven years ago, due to the deep the economic despair afflicting much of the country's younger generation. It seems, therefore, that no one learned the lesson from the storm that befell the Arab world at the turn of the decade, and that the youths who spearheaded the Arab Spring still have no hope for a better future. The situation, apparently, is only getting worse.
It is also noteworthy that the riots erupted in Tunisia of all places, which until recently was perceived as a type of "oasis in the desert" – that is to say the only Arab country that managed to survive the tsunami of the Arab Spring, restore political and economic stability and even maintain, at least in comparison to the country's surrounding it, a democratic system. Good things, however, never seem to last.
When the Arab Spring erupted, many in Israel called on the government to be proactive and declare its support for the youths protesting in the streets. They even cautioned that Israel could find itself on the wrong side of the regional map and tide of history. In hindsight, though, nearly 10 years after that storm hit the Middle East, Israel in many regards is on the right side of the regional map.
According to reports leaked from Cairo, Egyptian security officials instructed media outlets in the country to downplay U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and refrain from fanning public anger on the matter. They explained that shining a spotlight on Israel and the Jerusalem question runs counter to the Egyptian interest, which at the moment focuses entirely on the fight against terror and Iran. In Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently and advised him to accept Abu Dis or Ramallah as the capital of a future Palestinian state. After all, the crown prince allegedly asked him, how far are those places from Jerusalem anyway?
But we do not need leaks to know that Egypt and Saudi Arabia want to cooperate with Israel in an effort to preserve regional stability, fight terror and curb Iranian encroachment; and also to try forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians that will be acceptable to both sides, certainly to Israel.
Thus, despite the Arab Spring's failure to cure the Arab world's ills, which have even been exacerbated in many respects, when it comes to Israel we are in fact witnessing an actual Arab-Israel spring. To be sure, Israel is no longer perceived as the source of the region's problems or as a punching bag for regimes to use to relieve pressure at home. Quite the opposite – the rulers and elites in the Arab countries around us view Israel as an integral part of the solution, not as the problem.
