A Tuesday of Thanksgiving

15 September 2020—a day that will go down in history. A remarkable day of peace, hope and friendship.

Shehecheyanu v’kiyamanu v’higayanu lazman hazeh… a traditional blessing thanking God who has preserved us and enabled us to reach this glorious time.

We, together with millions of viewers across all continents, were silent participants in the very moving hour of speeches and signing of accords for normalization between us and the two leading Gulf nations of the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain.

In the remarks of all four participants, the American president, the Israeli prime minister, the foreign minister of the UAE and the representative of the King of Bahrain, over and over again we heard the words of peace and friendship in a new Middle East.

They were moving words. Inspiring words. Encouraging words. Hopeful words. Words which touched our hearts. Words which we had long dreamed to hear.

Today was a Tuesday of thanksgiving. In particular it was a day of gratitude to President Donald Trump, the author and father of this occasion, a day of normalization between a Jewish and two Muslim nations.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is most deserving of receiving the Nobel Prize for Peace.

While other leaders talked about normalization, no one brought it into reality more than President Trump.

Prime minister Netanyahu’s words expressed gratitude to President Trump. The two Arab partners to the accords expressed sincere thanks to the peace-makers and hailed this day as an historic moment for expanding peace in our region.

All four dignatories expressed the hope that the stubbornness of the Palestinian Authority would take a lesson from today’s momentous occasion and would become the next body to build on peace by coming to the table with Israel and speaking together face to face, removing the masks of negativism.

The Palestinians have always, in the past 72 years, refused to accept the facts on the round and to realize that time is passing them by. Their people are lacking hope and linger in despair. And it is due entirely to the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas who stubbornly objects to peace with Israel. He prefers war and supports the terrorism of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, the agents of war and mass terrorism in the name of Palestine.

President Trump mentioned Iran in a generous remark regarding his hope that the Islamic republic would end its aggression and would eventually sign an accord of peace with Israel.

That, in my historic opinion, is Trump’s wildest dream. Under the government of Iran today, unlike that of the Iranian government under the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi, any hope of cordial relations seems like centuries away.

The Iranians today are fuming with anger against the two Gulf states with whom they have cordial relations for their agreement to sign accords of understanding and friendship with the Jewish State.

They are not actually peace accords because we have thankfully never been at war with one another.

The signed agreements will result in trade between us, tourism, and cooperation in all matters of science and defense.

Today is the Tuesday of Thanksgiving. Jews will give thanks in synagogues and Muslims will give thanks in mosques.

In both holy places we will be united as ibnai Ibrahim, b’nai Avraham—sons of our patriarch Abraham.

Special prayers of thanks should be offered at the Machpela cave in Hebron, burial place of our mutual father Abraham/ Ibrahim.

Blessed are the peace-makers. Blessed are the dreamers of peace. And blessed are the builders of peace.

Today, in spite of the dreaded pandemic of coronavirus, is a day for celebration. A day of thanksgiving… thanks not only to the four men who signed a document at the White House in Washington, DC, but more important, thanks to our Eternal Almighty God who guided their hearts, souls and minds and who brought them to this great event in the history of mankind.

Shehecheyanu— we have lived to see renewed hope and a promise of friendship and peace.

Todah l’El. Shukran l’Allah. Thanks be to God. And long shall live our relationship as the sons of one man, Avraham/Ibrahim, the first to recognize the One-ness of God, the father of monotheism.