Hail to Donald, Hell to Bibi

With this my 1,151 st article I am off to the bindery for the binding of volume # 23 and the beginning of what will without doubt be my last volume #24. If I live to complete it there will be a total of approximately four thousand pages of my work that no one will want to inherit.

23 bound volumes take up so much space on a table that there is no room to put down my coffee cup and I am left holding it fearful of spilling drops of the rich dark liquid on my white shirt.

I begin volume #24 and article # 1,151 with a hearty hail to Donald John Trump, the American president who has worked wonders in establishing a warm peace with our neighbors in the Gulf states, wonders which no previous president or other international leader has ever succeeded in doing.

With a hail to Donald, I follow it with a hell to Bibi and hope that he will be denied the glory that his ego expects at the signing ceremony in Washington. He has done little if anything to bring about the historic peace arrangement. He depended upon president Trump to use his forceful energy and political power to create this miracle in our time.

For that reason I sent a personal letter to Oslo, Norway recommending that the Nobel Prize for Peace should be awarded to the American president who is the most deserving of it. No prize is due to Bibi.

If I close my eyes I can envision flight-loads of Israeli tourists landing in Dubai or in Manama and wondering if there might be future flights to Morocco or Khartoum.
No one could have imagined such a wave of triumph. It is a gift from Hashem, from the God of Israel, who has inspired the hearts and minds of peace-loving leaders to take this giant step forward.

The peace accord with Bahrain was achieved with immense help and approval of the government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Their approval and influence cinched the deal leading to the joint signing of peace.

I wonder why we refer to agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as “peace” agreements. We have never been at war with those countries so why call it “peace”? Friendly gestures would be more fitting.

No one can know at this time if Saudi Arabia will join in the historic march. As far as future tourism, there is little in Riyadh of interest to Jewish travelers. Israeli Muslims, on the other hand, could delight in possible visits to the holy places of Islam in Mecca and Medina.

Saudi tourists may come, albeit in small numbers, to worship in the Al Aqsa mosque in Jewish Jerusalem.

Cameras will be clicking feverishly to capture for history the results of this magnificent period in our lives.

As a citizen of both Israel and the United States I will take much pride in watching the televised ceremony in Washington as reported by CNN and channel 12 news. I’ll put aside my strong anti-Netanyahu protest remarks, but only for a few hours. They must continue later !

The shouting and word-battles we hear daily on Ophir-Berkovitz broadcasts must be thrown into the garbage heap for now . This is not the time for arguing or for bitterly-worded comments. This is a time for gratitude for the peace-builders, a time for renewed good hope for a better future, a time to rejoice.

On that historic hour, I will stand to hail Donald Trump but without any enthusiasm or pride as a voting citizen of Israel I will sit out any credit to Bibi the bully.

He and his family would be wise to depart Washington early and to find their seats on Tuesday’s El-Al flight back to Tel-Aviv. Time enough for Sara to do her never-ending bargain hunting.

Who knows where corona can find its next victims?