First Arab-Israeli conference since Gaza war to be held in UAE next week, sign that Abraham Accords are holding up under fire

JERUSALEM – Leaders of Iran, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have vowed to blow up the peace treaties that Israel has forged with six Arab countries.

And they are doing everything they can to keep their promise. 

• Fomenting riots on the Temple Mount, at the Damascus Gate, and in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah

• Launching the latest Gaza war, and firing more than 4,300 rockets at Israel

• Persuading governments and media outlets to condemn Israel anywhere and everywhere they can

Not surprisingly, some political observers have openly worried that the “warm peace” emerging between Israel and the moderate Arab world would be severely, possibly unalterably, damaged.

Thus far, however, the Abraham Accords are holding up under fire.

While Arab countries certainly issued sharp criticism of the Israeli government in recent weeks, they did not cancel the Abraham Accords.

Nor did they withdraw their ambassadors or impose an embargo on the Jewish state, as during past conflicts.

The latest positive sign of progress: the first Arab-Israeli conference since the Gaza war will be held in Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates next week.

The Jerusalem Post and the Khaleej Times – the two most popular English language daily newspapers in Israel and the UAE respectively – are jointly organizing and hosting the event, billed the “Global Investment Forum.”

It was originally scheduled for January, but had to be postponed due to the COVID crisis.

Some feared the invitation-only event would be canceled because of the war.

But organizers tell ALL ISRAEL NEWS that all systems are go.

Indeed, with COVID rates plummeting in the UAE and Israel, planners are excited that this can be an in-person event.

On June 1, a splashy gala will be held at the Armani Hotel in the Burj al-Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

On June 2, the forum will host some 200 of the leading investors, CEOs, entrepreneurs, government ministers and thought leaders from the UAE, Israel, Bahrain, Morocco, the U.S., Canada and India.

I will be reporting live both days from the forum for ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS. 

Vinay Kamat – editor-in-chief of the Khaleej Times – will interview various guests and moderating panels.

Yaakov Katz, the editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, will be doing the same.

Among the confirmed speakers:

• Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of State for Foreign Trade

• Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi is the director general of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office

• Dr. Ali al-Nuaimi, member of the UAE Federal National Council and chairman of the Defense Affairs, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee

• Adel Ahmad Al Redha, COO of Emirates Airlines

• Amb. Houda Nonoo, former Bahraini ambassador to the United States

• Eitan Na’eh, Israel’s ambassador to the UAE

• Ronald S. Lauder, chairman emeritus of the Estee Lauder company

• Moshe Lion, mayor of Jerusalem

• Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem

• Haim Bibas, mayor of Modi’in

• Ilanit Melchior, director of Tourism for the Jerusalem Development Authority

• Ruth Wasserman Lande, former Knesset Member and former advisor to Israeli president Shimon Peres

• Ehud Olmert, former prime minister of Israel

• Amb. Pavan Kapoor, India’s ambassador to the UAE

• Amb. Marcy Grossman, Canada’s ambassador to the UAE

Numerous Israeli cabinet ministers were expected to speak, as well. However, the Knesset elections for Israel’s next president are slated for June 2, making it now unlikely that they will be able to attend.