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Israel’s Allied Muslim States as a Centerpiece of Trump’s Policy of Peace
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-US President Donald Trump, and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed display their copies of signed agreements as they participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors, in a strategic realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US, September 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Tom Brenner/
Since Tehran will soon be able to launch an atomic bomb and will then become a real strategic danger to Israel and the Sunni Arab states, Israel has an existential need to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. That’s why Israel is trying to expand relations with all moderate or secular Muslim states that can support or join the Abraham Accords.
In this context, Israel’s and America’s grand strategy in the Middle East must consist of both rebuilding Gaza as soon as possible with a new Palestinian leadership; continuing to contain Iran’s proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah; and extending the Abraham Accords to Central Asian and Caucasian Turkic-speaking countries such as Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan.
This is the new “big game.” For Donald Trump, the Accords are not just a simple tool for resolving the Middle East conflict by paying (financially or politically) the Arab or Muslim states to make peace with Israel, but should become an informal bloc of states, an intergovernmental club for joint economic development to support US economic policy in various fields. One of the first positive effects of the global Trump plan would be to fight terrorism, whose breeding ground is poverty and fanaticism, through economic development and a new moderate Palestinian government.
The 2020 agreements initiated by Trump led to the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, and were the first regional agreements to be signed since 1994 (between Israel and Jordan).
The agreements were named the “Abraham Accords” to emphasize the common belief of Islam and Judaism in the existence of the Prophet Abraham. In reality, the rapprochement between Israel and the Sunni Arab states began in the 2010s due to their common fear of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear program. Since 2012, the unofficial normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel has been largely based on intelligence sharing against this common threat, and the Omani and Israeli intelligence services have also begun to cooperate.
Now, five years later, how can the Abraham Accords be strengthened and extended to other Arab and non-Arab Muslim states?
According to US think tanks and Israeli media, the next direction of the “Abraham Process” could be the South Caucasus and other Turkic-speaking countries in Central Asia, with a possible alignment of Azerbaijan — a secular state with a moderate Shiite majority that already has a 30-year alliance with Israel. Recently, its state-owned energy giant bought 10% of one of Israel’s gas fields, and the deal was done with the blessing of the US company Chevron.
Azerbaijan’s unique conceptual and practical experience in Muslim-Jewish cooperation (after Turkey’s special experience in the 1990s was ended by President Erdogan’s pro-Hamas strategy) can be used to extend the Abraham Accords to other non-Arab Muslim countries in the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa.
Crucially, the UAE, one of the architects and key participants in the Abraham Accords, is also Azerbaijan’s top partner in the Arab world. Similarly, Israel is already promoting a trilateral partnership model for Morocco involving American companies, and plans to extend this approach to the Sunni Gulf monarchies and the US in the areas of defense, AI, and cybersecurity as part of the expansion of the Abraham Accords. Azerbaijan’s participation in such initiatives would strengthen the Muslim component of Israel’s regional partnerships.
If Trump’s plan to rebuild Gaza is adapted to the positions of Riyadh, Cairo, and Amman, the reconstruction — which is necessary in any case — will most likely involve the UAE, Egypt, and possibly other Arab states. Washington could approach Baku with a proposal to participate on a humanitarian basis, acting as a free supplier of energy resources needed for reconstruction efforts and for the needs of the Palestinian population during the active phase of the project.
This could open a window of opportunity for other post-Soviet Turkic countries, such as Kazakhstan, to join the club. Kazakhstan is the gateway to Central Asia, which is rich in coveted minerals such as uranium, lithium, and tantalum, and has some of the largest gas reserves in the world. Kazakhstan is also friendly to Israel. Washington could use the Baku-Jerusalem relationship to contain Iran’s geopolitical ambitions in Central Asia.
Iran is seeking to increase its influence in the region in pursuit of energy and, of course, uranium. Increasing alliances between Israel and other Muslim-majority countries important as the Trump administration works to pressure Iran and further integrate and consolidate Israel’s presence within the framework of a “Greater Middle East.”
Alessandro Bertoldi is the Executive Director of the Milton Friedman Institute.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
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