The Bahraini Nationalist is pleased that Bahrain's Crown Prince has written an op-ed in the Washington Post asking Arabs to talk to the people of Israel: “Shaikh Salman is trying to tell Arabs that Israel is a reality and won’t disappear. Learn to live with it!!” Yet a Facebook group has already started called “Bahrainis against the Crown Prince's call for normalization with the Zionist enemy“.
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This is pathetic. If he wanted to address “Arabs” he would write in Arabic. This English piece is geared towards the West, not Arabs.
Mixed feelings about this. Obviously, the Prince is correct; the road to peace begins with talking, not with refusing to talk until you get exactly what you want.
On the other hand, a cynic can’t help but wonder if this isn’t at least partially motivated by the spectre of a nuclear-armed Iran casting a speculative eye on Bahrain as a rich prize not well defended. The current efforts by Bahrain to diversify from an oil economy into tourism also enter into it. Either way, friendship with Israel is an asset, and even more important is the perception in America of friendship with Israel. Thus, the Op-ed in the Post, addressing the latter need.
I don’t have easy access to translations of the Arabic language media to see what the Prince is saying or not saying there, but he has my sympathies. The ruling houses of the Arab monarchies are riding the tiger of public antiZionist fervor which they have raised to ferocious rage over 50 years as an expedient for their own political survival, and now they have to be very careful to dismount without being eaten alive.
FYI – I checked out the group you are talking about “Bahrainis again the Crown Prince’s call for normalization with the Zinoist enemy” and it has ONE member, so don’t try to trigger problems. Many educated and liberal Bahrainis have been dreaming of the day in which they could get on a plane and travel to Tel Aviv beaches and visit the historical sites of the Galilee. We want peace.
Jewish Arab – the group has 231 members right now.
I don’t think Bahrain has any significant role in the peace process. Normalization of Bahraini relations with Israel will not solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem nor would have the least effect on it. If “educated” Bahrains travel to Tel Aviv beaches, that changes nothing , except for their summer holiday destination and maybe some trade.