Orthodox Union Welcomes Historic, Unprecedented Signing of Twin Agreements to Establish Full Diplomatic Relations between Israel, United Arab Emirates and Israel, Bahrain

Posted on September 15, 2020 In Press Releases

Orthodox Union Leadership to Attend Tuesday’s White House Ceremonies Marking Israel-UAE “Abraham Accords” and Israel-Bahrain “Declaration of Peace”

Today, the leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (“Orthodox Union”)—the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization— issued the following statement welcoming the “Abraham Accords” between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and the “Declaration of Peace” between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain:

“Today, we welcome the historic and extraordinary dual agreements signed at the White House between Israel and two of her Arab neighbors: the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain.

“More than a quarter of a century has passed since an Arab nation came to the table to make peace with the Jewish State. At that time, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Salam Majali signed the Treaty of Peace, the second ever between Israel and an Arab country; 15 years before that, Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel when Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat signed the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty. These agreements have endured to this day.

“Today, we salute Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahraini Prime Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani for coming together to usher in a new era of peace, prosperity, hope and security to the Middle East. We also congratulate President Trump and the many members of his staff who worked with great determination and rigor to make this day a reality.

“The Orthodox Union looks forward to a time in the near future, G-d willing, when other nations in the region follow suit and come forward in the spirit of friendship and join with Israel to complete a mosaic of peace across the Middle East.”