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A Corridor for Peace: Connecting the Middle East, India, and Europe
Bali Governor I Wayan Koster (left) with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and Indonesian Home Minister Tito Karnavian ahead of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia November 14, 2022. Photo: Fikri Yusuf/G20 Media Center/Handout via REUTERS
In September 2023, the IMEC initiative was announced. IMEC is an economic corridor that will connect India, the Middle East and Europe, with the support of the United States. This initiative has the potential to change the face of global trade and transportation.
The corridor is expected to strengthen economic, transportation and energy ties among the countries and serve as a digital bridge between continents. IMEC offers Israel a strategic opportunity to position itself as a transit hub between Asia and Europe and strengthen its regional ties — but the initiative faces geopolitical challenges that require strategic planning and smart regional cooperation.
In September 2023, at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, an ambitious initiative was announced: to establish the “India-Middle East-Europe Corridor” (IMEC), an economic corridor supported by the United States. The initiative aims to connect India, the Middle East, and Europe through advanced transport and energy infrastructure and strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, energy and security among all partner countries.
European Union Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen said the corridor is “more than ‘just’ a railway or a cable car, it is a green and digital bridge across continents and cultures.”
The IMEC economic corridor is expected to generate significant economic benefits and improve geopolitical ties among the participating countries. For Israel, it represents an important opportunity to position itself as a strategic bridge between Asia and Europe and to exploit the advantages inherent in the project.
Israel’s integration into the corridor will allow it to upgrade its transportation and logistics infrastructure, become a major transit hub between Asia and Europe, strengthen ties with the Gulf states, expand its circle of economic partners, and reduce its dependence on limited markets and its status as an “island economy” and “energy island.”
However, the success of the project depends on regional cooperation that requires political stability and regulatory adjustments. Geopolitical tensions between the great powers could spark competition for areas of influence, especially in the face of initiatives such as China’s “New Silk Road” (the Belt & Road Initiative, or BRI). In addition, although the project is not conditional on full normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, effective cooperation will require ongoing coordination between those countries.
The economic corridor and regional potential
In light of the profound and dramatic changes in the region, the time is ripe to launch initiatives for regional cooperation between Israel and the moderate Arab states as an important step towards consolidating Israel’s status and independence.
At the time of writing, some of the conflicts are waning, with the collapse of the Shiite axis and the disintegration of the “ring of fire” that was part of Iran’s overt strategy in recent years. With Trump’s second term, discussions are resurfacing about possible normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia through American mediation. Indeed, the prolonged war emphasizes the importance of achieving military goals and implementing initiatives to promote regional stability.
Under the first Trump administration, important agreements were signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. These agreements, known as the “Abraham Accords,” built on the earlier peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and are part of Israel’s quiet diplomacy with its neighbors to expand peace since its founding.
The corridor is expected to increase Israel’s trade volumes with new markets in the Gulf, India and Europe, thereby reducing its dependence on traditional trading partners. Investment in expanding seaports (mainly in Haifa Bay) and infrastructure along the railway line (the Valley Railway) could make Israel a vital trade hub while encouraging foreign investment and establishing free trade zones along the corridor, especially near the border with Jordan.
In addition, integration into the project will provide opportunities for innovation in the fields of logistics and technology, including the integration of artificial intelligence and automation into transportation and management processes on the Israeli side towards Europe.
IMEC also constitutes a platform for the development of the green energy sector, including connection to green hydrogen and solar energy infrastructure. This could position Israel as a major player in the field of renewable energy and energy supply to Europe. It could also help achieve the government’s renewable energy goals (77% of electricity production by 2050).
Against this backdrop, it is necessary to examine how the processes of connectivity between Israel and the moderate axis among its neighbors can be strengthened through the ambitious initiative. In the past decade, goods from Europe have reached Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries through the port of Haifa, from where they made their way to the Israeli-Jordanian border crossing at Sheikh Hussein while maintaining the secrecy of their passage through Israel. This secrecy serves all parties by shortening transportation routes and may now receive further impetus in the renewed initiative supported by the current administration.
The IMEC initiative is largely based on a revolutionary rail connection project, “Railways for Regional Peace”, that was proposed in 2018. This project aims to connect Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia via high-speed rail. The planned land bridge is intended to streamline the passage of goods between the East and Europe by shortening transportation times, bypassing the Suez Canal, and promoting essential infrastructure for maximum utilization of existing transportation lines.
The project is divided into two main phases. The first involves constructing a railway connecting Israel and Jordan in the Beit Shean area. This phase requires the construction of tracks that will link the new private docks at Haifa Port to the Jordanian border, as well as a rail connection from the Sheikh Hussein border crossing to Irbid in Jordan. These links will accommodate the different rail standards of Israel and Jordan and overcome significant elevation differences between the two sides. The second phase focuses on establishing a direct railway line that will connect Israeli ports to the Persian Gulf via Jordan and Saudi Arabia, including the establishment of extensive trade zones — that is, land ports — for unloading and transporting cargo.
While the exact route of the IMEC project has not yet been revealed, it is expected to combine land rail corridors with shipping lanes. One option is for cargo shipments to depart from major ports in western India, such as Mumbai. The shipments would then be unloaded at ports in the Persian Gulf, including the port of Dammam in Saudi Arabia and various ports in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. From there, the goods would be transported by high-speed rail through northern Saudi Arabia and Jordan, finally reaching Israel via the Sheikh Hussein crossing.
Following the outbreak of war in 2023, a private pilot was conducted to examine a land transport route for trucks through the ports of Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Jordan that are unloaded using the Back to Back Trucking method at the border crossings with Israel, as was already done unofficially after the signing of the Abraham Accords. The public debut trip included ten trucks that traveled the long land route from the ports of the Persian Gulf to Israel.
The successful trip reflected the cooperation between the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — an essential factor due to the blockade imposed by the Iran-backed Houthis in the Bab al-Mandab Straits.
The India-Europe Economic Corridor through the Middle East is also expected to include the laying of communication cables and electricity connections that rely on existing networks, as well as pipelines for exporting gas, mainly green hydrogen (i.e., hydrogen produced using renewable energy, such as solar energy) from India and the Gulf countries to Europe. This way, gas can be stored in designated facilities that have already been successfully tested in Israel and other countries.
Israel is also cooperating with Egypt, Cyprus and Greece on offshore gas reserves. IMEC could become an export corridor for energy from those countries to Europe, which needs to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. This need arose mainly as a result of the war in Ukraine and the disruption of Russian gas transit through Ukrainian territory to Western Europe. The Great Sea Interconnector, which will be based on infrastructure for an undersea power cable to connect Israel with the Greek-Cypriot-European cable, could become an important energy source for Europe.
Current challenges
This ambitious plan has great potential in terms of the export of gas from Israel to European countries and the expansion of the existing infrastructure for energy transit within and outside Israel. However, the development of port connections, railways and other infrastructure necessary for the establishment of IMEC will require significant investment.
The first phase is estimated to cost about $8 billion, which will have to include private investments. Saudi Arabia has committed to an investment of $20 billion for IMEC, but this is only a tiny fraction of the $600 billion the G7 aims to raise for projects that will compete with the Chinese initiative by 2027. Furthermore, none of the member states has made formal financial commitments to IMEC, which leaves much of the financing outlook unclear.
The economic obstacle of attracting investment from India, the Gulf states and the European Union is just one hurdle. The war imposed on Israel since October 2023 and the continuation of the regional war against it have led to the suspension of normalization talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and public opposition from Arab countries to regional infrastructure initiatives with Israel, thus posing significant challenges to IMEC.
In parallel with the challenges associated Israel-Saudi normalization, Jordan is facing significant economic difficulties beyond the political and internal tensions arising from its relations with Israel. These difficulties are reflected, among other things, in the freezing of the joint electricity project with Israel and delays in obtaining financing to upgrade the railways in its territory. In light of the war in Gaza, relations between Israel and Egypt are also under great strain.
Another obstacle at the international level is the geopolitical competition between the United States and China. In the face of this initiative, which grew out of discussions at the I2U2 forum involving India, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, China embarked on an early and ambitious infrastructure program that has increased its influence in the region. Given that China has invested in regional infrastructure development projects, such as Etihad Rail, it may try to block regional projects that would harm its status or reduce its influence.
Saudi Arabia (which joined the China-led BRICS organization in August 2023 as an official member) and the UAE also cultivate deep ties with China and have become its strategic trade partners while maintaining their place within the Belt and Road initiative. The Gulf states’ involvement in IMEC could be a means of spreading risk and boosting leverage for negotiations with the Western partners. Turkey’s plans to establish an energy corridor through the Arab gas pipeline in Syria or through a corridor from Qatar and its connection to the existing network in Syria and Turkey could be realized more quickly, and undermine India’s route to transfer energy through Israel.
Practical suggestions
To make the agreement a reality and attract private and governmental investment, several initial steps are required, including the creation of a multilateral agreement to establish an institutional framework for a structured and systematic dialogue between the participating countries.
Another obstacle in the normalization process between Israel and Saudi Arabia, mediated by the United States, stems from difficulties in reaching long-term arrangements. One possible means of alleviating public opposition to normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is the vision of railways for regional peace published by the Israeli government, a vision that includes the Valley Railway line for exporting and importing Palestinian goods to the Gulf states and Europe via the border crossing.
This may ease the opposition of the leaders of the hawkish line in the Saudi Kingdom against Israel and give the upper hand to the moderate camp, which supports promoting open relations between the countries. There is already economic and civilian cooperation, sometimes through a third party, as well as cooperation on the security front, with the two countries operating under the umbrella of United States Centcom command. This cooperation led to joint warnings and interceptions during the Iranian attacks on Israel. This is in addition to the opening of the airspace of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the Gulf states to Israeli companies on their way to Asia in recent years.
To realize the economic potential of IMEC and reduce the political and economic barriers associated with it, a dedicated body should be established to attract private investment and promote infrastructure development among the participating countries. This body would allow private companies to take part in the project on the basis of private investment and the transportation of goods, thereby creating a model that would provide participants with economic incentives for the project’s success. In addition, the involvement of private initiatives could give the project broader public legitimacy, especially among the Arab countries, thereby easing political pressure on the region’s rulers and contributing to private-sponsored cooperation.
For Israel, participation in the IMEC project offers significant economic and geopolitical opportunities. Integration into the corridor will allow it to upgrade its existing transportation and logistics infrastructure on the Valley Line, greatly develop the ports of Haifa and the Gulf, and become a major transit hub between Asia and Europe. The corridor will allow Israel to fulfill its objectives in the field of renewable energy, expand its circle of economic partners, especially with India and European countries, and reduce its dependence on limited markets.
The IMEC economic corridor initiative faces significant political and geopolitical challenges that will require strategic planning and smart regional cooperation, but it has the potential to change the face of global trade and transportation — and it offers Israel a chance to position itself as a major player in the international arena.
Dr. Nir Levitan is a researcher at the BESA Center at Bar-Ilan University and at the Center for Cold War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark.
Prof. Arie Reich is Vice Rector and Jean Monnet Chair in Law and European Union Institutions, Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University.
Prof. Jonathan Rynhold is head of the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University and a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.
A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
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Anti-Zionists Are Excluding LGBTQ+ Jews From Pride Spaces, New Report Says
Jews of Pride members are seen marching in the Pride parade 2025, part of LGBTQ+ community’s Midsumma Festival. Photo: Alexander Bogatyrev / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect.
Anti-Israel activists in the LGBTQ+ community are subjecting Zionist Jews to extreme levels of discrimination, including expulsions from major progressive groups and even physical assault, according to a new report by the nonprofit A Wider Bridge.
The release of the report — titled “Unsafe Spaces: Addressing Antisemitism Against LGBTQ+ Jews and Ensuring Pride Safety” — comes as LGBTQ community members across the Western world observe Pride Month, a period of festivities which celebrate the expansion of social and legal rights that have allowed gays to live more freely and authentically than ever in human history. For pro-Israel Jews, however, Pride Month 2025 is a challenging moment, as anti-Zionism has creeped into and crowded out many queer spaces which once welcomed them with open arms.
From online forums to the streets, the maltreatment and “erasure” of Jewish queer identity is severe, the report explains. Eighty-two percent of LGBTQ Jews have reported being expelled from social media channels or harassed on them, A Wider Bridge noted.
Earlier this year, NYC Dyke March, a public demonstration held by members of the lesbian community in New York City, banned self-proclaimed “Zionists” from its annual event, citing a desire to stand against the so-called “genocide” occurring in Gaza. Last year, the NYC Dyke March came under scrutiny after organizers settled on “genocide” as the theme of its 2024 event. In a statement, decrying “ethnic cleansing, violence, and dehumanization,” the organization compared the ongoing war in Gaza, to mass killings occurring in Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Sudan.
Also in 2024, the Dyke March Committee formally barred “Zionists” from participating in the Pride March, and during the event Jews were attacked and heckled after being seen wearing the Star of David on their clothing. That same year, an LGBTQ-friendly bar in the Brooklyn borough of New York City refused to hold a screening party for the Eurovision talent competition due to the participation of an Israeli contestant.
Forced, mass exiles are taking place in response to this new reality, the report added. Forty-three percent of queer Jews say they are leaving online forums; 40 percent abstain from participating in LGBTQ social events; and 30 percent said their decision was driven by precipitous deterioration of the manner in which they are treated. The only conclusion to draw, the report said, is that the Pride movement is “no longer universally safe or inclusive.”
“What we have found since Oct. 7 and what the report points to is that the explosion of antisemitism that the whole Jewish community has experienced has in some ways grown even more exponentially in the LGBTQ community,” Rabbi Denise Eger, interim executive director of A Wider Bridge and former president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, told The Algemeiner during an interview on Friday. “What we’re seeing around now as Pride marches and organizations put on their celebration s is institutional discrimination and outright boycotts.”
Eger went on to note that antisemitism in LGBTQ communities is all the more distressing due to the outsized contributions, legal and political, which Jewish gays and lesbians have made towards fostering a society that is more inclusive of non-heteronormative identities and relationships.
“Look at who were the early leaders of the LGBTQ civil rights movement — Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US, was a Jewish man. Edith Windsor, who brought one of the first marriage equality cases that we won at the Supreme Court, and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, who won it — these are LGBTQ heroes, not just LGBTQ ‘Jewish’ heroes and heroines,” Eger continued. “So, for LGBTQ Jews to be continually shut out of these spaces is paralyzing, shocking, and horrifying, and LGBTQ Jews are asking where is their home.”
She added, “These are difficult times, but together, the whole Jewish community, including the LGBTQ part of the Jewish community, can stand strong and be resilient in the face of all this, just as the Jewish people have done throughout our history. We have the tools within our tradition to keep us strong and to help us educate. And yes, I believe so much, as a rabbi, that we can and must help change the world for the better. That’s what we are called to do as the Jewish people.”
As previously reported by The Algemeiner, recorded incidents of antisemitism in the US continue to increase year over year, breaking all previous annual records.
In 2024, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual audit, there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents — an average of 25.6 a day — across the US, creating an atmosphere of hate not experienced in the nearly thirty years since the ADL began tracking such data in 1979. Incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault all increased by double digits, and for the first time ever a majority of outrages — 58 percent — were related to the existence of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state.
The Algemeiner parsed the ADL’s data, finding dramatic rises in incidents on college campuses, which saw the largest growth in 2024. The 1,694 incidents tallied by the ADL amounted to an 84 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, antisemites were emboldened to commit more offenses in public in 2024 than they did in 2023, perpetrating 19 percent more attacks on Jewish people, pro-Israel demonstrators, and businesses perceived as being Jewish-owned or affiliated with Jews.
“Hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the US, with more than half of all antisemitic incidents referencing Israel or Zionism,” said Oren Segal, ADL senior vice president for counter-extremism and intelligence. “These incidents, along with all those documented in the audit, serve as a clear reminder that silence is not an option. Good people must stand up, push back, and confront antisemitism wherever it appears. And that starts with understanding what fuels it and learning to recognize it in all its forms.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Two UK Men Convicted, Jailed Following November Antisemitic Harassment
Illustrative: A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
A court in the United Kingdom on Thursday sentenced Hussein Altamimi, 22, and Ali Alanzi, 30, to prison sentences of eight months and seven months respectively, for charges stemming from an incident at London’s Western Marble Arch Synagogue in November 2024, according to British media.
The two men received convictions for yelling at four Jewish worshipers such phrases as “Jews aren’t welcome here,” “you don’t belong here,” and “f—king Jew.” They also repeatedly screamed “free Palestine.”
The incident grew violent when Altamimi hit one victim’s arm to try and prevent her from filming the abuse. Alanzi also hurled liquid from an alcoholic drink toward one person. When police arrived to arrest the pair, he assaulted one of the officers.
The court convicted both men of four counts of religiously aggravated public order offenses and religiously aggravated assault. Alanzi also received a conviction for attacking the officer and will endure an additional 12 weeks’ incarceration due to a previous suspended sentence.
On Friday, the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) described its reaction to the hate crime prosecutions on X in one word: “Vindicated.”
Altamimi also faced additional charges and guilty verdicts related to a July 2023 incident which included racial abuse and striking a police officer.
“The CPS is working closely with the police to tackle hate crime, making sure that perpetrators who target victims because of their religion, race, sexuality, gender identity, or disability are brought to justice,” Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer Anna Hindmarsh said following the trial. “We know that hate crimes have a significant impact on victims and the wider community, and we will continue to support victims and witnesses who come forward to report any examples of hate crime they have experienced.”
The convictions against Altamimi and Alanzi are part of a historic surge in antisemitic acts in the United Kingdom.
The UK experienced its second-worst year for antisemitism in 2024, despite recording an 18 percent drop in antisemitic incidents from the previous year’s all-time high, according to a report released in February.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, released data showing it recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, a drop of 18 percent from the 4,296 in 2023. These numbers compare to 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, 2,261 in 2021, and 1,684 in 2020.
In the 12 months following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, CST counted 5,583 antisemitic incidents in the UK, an increase from 204 percent from the same period the previous year.
Many of the incidents involved violence targeting the Jewish community.
Last month, On May 26, a group of six or seven men attacked three Jewish boys at the Hampstead Underground Station in North London, requiring hospitalization for one. CAA said that “this report is yet another stark reminder of the growing threat facing Jewish communities, including children.”
Another antisemitic assault occurred in Manchester in February, when an unidentified individual hit a Jewish man with what was believed to be a bottle, shattering the victim’s glasses.
The heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Stamford Hill in Hackney saw an antisemitic act last week when vandals targeted a Jewish-owned investment firm, smashing its windows and splashing red paint. The group Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the crime, as it had done previously for similar acts at the University of Cambridge’s endowment fund headquarters and the BBC’s New Broadcasting House.
“This should be treated as [an] antisemitic incident without any doubt. [The owners] are visibly Jewish people; the people who run the business and this business itself have nothing to do with Israel,” said Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Jewish security service Shomrim’s branch in Stamford Hill.
Days earlier, residents of Brighton in southeastern England discovered antisemitic vandalism at a memorial created to honor the victims of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terror attacks.
“There have been over 40 attacks on the site including vandalism, theft, and graffiti. The abuse has been relentless,” Heidi Bachram, who volunteers to maintain the memorial, told The Jewish Chronicle at the time. “It’s shocking that grief for innocents is met with such violence. The hate won’t stop us, and every night, a different victim’s story will be told [at the memorial]. We will never let them be forgotten.”
In April, according to prosecutors, Abdullah Sabah Albadri, 33, attempted to climb a wall outside of the Israeli embassy in London while carrying a “martyrdom note.”
Prosecutor Kristel Pous said that Albadri told police that he wanted to “do something to send a message to the Israeli government to stop the war.”
The Israeli embassy stated in response to the foiled attack that “we thank the British security forces for their immediate response and ongoing efforts to secure the embassy.” It vowed that “the embassy of Israel will not be deterred by any terror threat and will continue to represent Israel with pride in the UK.”
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Large Pro-Israel Event in Texas ‘Indefinitely Postponed’ Due to Threats of Terrorism
A protester holds a sign that reads, ”From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” during a pro-Palestinian emergency demonstration outside the Consulate General of Israel in Houston, Texas, on March 19, 2025. Photo: Reginald Mathalone via Reuters Connect
The 2025 Israel Summit in Dallas, Texas has been indefinitely postponed in response to what organizers described as intensifying threats of terrorism.
Prior to the cancellation, the event was expecting over 1,000 attendees. The Israel Summit had already undergone a last-minute venue change due to mounting safety concerns. The gathering, scheduled for June 9–11, was set to feature prominent voices from both the Jewish and Christian pro-Israel communities.
Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who had been scheduled to speak at the event, commented on the cancellation on social media: “This is what America looks like in 2025. A peaceful pro-Israel gathering with more than a thousand participants had to be scrapped because of threats from violent extremists.”
Ten days prior to this year’s event, local police and intelligence officials in Dallas alerted organizers that the gathering had been upgraded to a “high-threat event.”
According to Josiah Hilton, host of the Israel Guys show, which was scheduled to co-host the event with HaYovel, the organizers had to produce “a mandatory security plan with a substantial budget estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The organizers then moved the Israel Summit to a facility in an isolated area of Kenneth, Texas. However, the event was forced to cancel after the Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas and Jewish Voice for Peace, a pair of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas organizations, revealed its location to their followers.
“[T]he Genocide Summit had to change plans last minute in desperation due to them claiming to be ‘under attack.’ The reality is they understand DFW’s commitment to confronting the extremist ideology that is Zionism,” Palestinian Youth Movement Dallas wrote on Instagram.
However, the organizers stated that they are going to hold the pro-Israel event “in the near future,” and vowed to “come back bigger and stronger, with more people.”
Hilton said that the cancellation reflects “the growing normalization of antisemitic threats and anti-Israel extremists, which are fueling intimidation and silencing voices of support for Israel across the United States.”
The cancellation of the Israel Summit also reflects growing concern regarding potential violence against supporters of the Jewish state. Last month, two Israeli embassy staffers, Yaron Lipschinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were murdered while exiting an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. Then this past Sunday, an assailant firebombed a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, injuring 15 people and a dog.
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