Wednesday and September has crested. And—we’re 49 days away from the November presidential election in the U.S.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”
I can scarcely believe it, but we have a statesman in the White House. Donald J. Trump is pulling off one of the most elusive deals ever with the signing of historic peace accords between Israel and Arab states in the Middle East. It’s been more than 25 years since Israel last made peace with one of its neighbors (after signing peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994).
Yesterday Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed the Abraham Accords, a general declaration of principles named after the biblical father of three monotheistic religions.
“We’re here this afternoon to change the course of history. After decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new Middle East,” Trump said. “Thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries, we take a major stride toward a future in which people of all faiths and all backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity.”
What’s remarkable is how Trump made this happen. Jeff Dunetz from The Lid explains how this historic moment was achieved.
Trump correctly figured out that many of the moderate Arab States were tiring of the Palestinians refusal to even try to make peace. They were tired of having to carry the Palestinians and were already dealing with Israel behind the scenes. The ones already working with Israel were the Sunni-led states like UAE and Bahrain (and the Saudis), because of their fear of Shia Iran.
But two things had to happen before the U.S. could take advantage of that gulf states’ frustration. Trump had to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. embassy there. What this did was take the religious component out of the equation. The Arab States who made peace would not be conceding the Muslim’s third holiest city to Israel, now that it’s a done deal.
The second move Trump had to make was making America energy independent. With that independence, no oil-producing nation could claim economic leverage over the United States.
Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. And the U.S. is now the world’s top oil-producing country, accounting for 18 percent of global production, largely due to fracking in Texas and North Dakota.
Writer Stephen Green of PJ Media explains what motivated the Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.
In recent years, however, Iran emerged as a much greater threat to the Arab Middle East than tiny Israel had ever been. Emboldened by former president Barack Obama’s largess and flush with cash, Iran’s mullahs engaged not only in a nuclear weapons race. They were also heavily engaged in Iraq and Syria in pursuit of a modern Persian Empire stretching from the ancient Persian lands across the entire Levant to the Mediterranean Sea.
He then goes on to explain the genius of Trump’s plan.
Meanwhile, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner worked quietly, putting together his “Peace to Prosperity” plan for Israel and Palestine. Revealed last January, the Kushner plan was unique in that it contained something like a poison pill: Trump would recognize Israeli annexation of the strategic Jordan River Valley if the Palestinian leadership refused.
They refused. Israel moved forward with annexation.
It’s at this point that the Trumpian “art of the deal” kicked in.
Achieving a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace is much more important to American interests than whether or not Israel annexes this or that bit of land.
Thanks to Iranian imperialism, making peace with Israel is now more important to the Arab nations than maintaining Palestinian irredentism.
But it isn’t easy, not even after years of unofficial cooperation with Israel, to reverse course after decades of anti-Israeli propaganda and the occasional war or two.
Peace to Prosperity was a “good enough” offer that the Palestinians would look bad for refusing it outright, which was almost an inevitability.
With the poison pill of West Bank annexations looming following the PA’s refusal to engage, Trump gave the Arab governments the justification they needed to reverse course. Arab governments could finally move towards Israel, but only if Israel agreed to give something back.
Like a perfectly choreographed dance, Jerusalem agreed not to annex the Jordan River Valley (which they probably weren’t going to annex, anyway) in exchange for recognition by the United Arab Emirates.
The Times of Israel also reported that the deal is good for Arab ties with the United States.
“There is no end of realpolitik in the new alignments. Israel has gradually impressed upon the neighborhood that it has millennia of roots here, that it is not going anywhere, that it is no pushover, and that it is well capable of defending itself. Its emerging new partners share a common concern about the Iranian regime’s rapaciousness and aggression, and recognize that Israel can be a critical ally against Tehran. The deals also open opportunities for warmer ties with Israel’s dependable US ally, and likely arms sales as a direct consequence. Also, decades of the Palestinians’ intransigence have reduced sympathy for their cause in at least parts of the Arab world — or at least reduced the readiness of parts of the Arab world to subjugate their own perceived interests to those of the Palestinians” (my emphasis).
Another positive outcome of the peace accords will be the enthusiasm among pro-Israel U.S. evangelical voters, an important part of Trump’s political base. Many of them believe that the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of God’s prophecy in Ezekiel that, “I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.” Protecting Israel is a priority for them.
After the Abraham Accords were signed, Trump revealed that there could be up to nine more countries who are willing to normalize relations with Israel, including Saudi Arabia. Bibi Netanyahu declared that Israel is “enjoying the greatest diplomatic triumph of its history.”
Responding in January 2018 to critics who questioned his mental stability, Trump tweeted that he’s a “very stable genius.” If the process above reflects the truth that produced yesterday’s results, Trump has proven in spades that his boast is accurate. He’s a diplomatic and political genius.
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A Personal Note
I write five days a week on personal time because it’s one way I can contribute to strengthening the resolve of Christians, conservatives and other like-minded compatriots in the face of unprecedented division in our country. I would like to eventually do more. If you like what you’re reading and think others would benefit from it, please consider regularly sharing and commenting on my posts. Also invite your friends to subscribe. They can do that right on the home page. Thanks for reading! — Dave
Photo Credit: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters