Rabbi David Woznica meets the Chariman of the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence, Shaikh Khalifa bin Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa. (Photo Courtesy Rabbi David Woznica)
Stephen Wise Temple’s Rabbi David Woznica is part of a diplomatic delegation of American rabbis currently traveling in the Middle East to celebrate the Abraham Accords between the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Israel. Rabbi Woznica and 11 other rabbis (representing Reform, Orthodox, and Conservative communities) were brought to the UAE last week on a trip sponsored by the UAE and Bahrain, both of which are Muslim-majority countries.
During the trip, which began on June 20, Rabbi Woznica and the rest of the delegation have been meeting with government officials and other leaders. They are headed to Israel this week. On June 26, Rabbi Woznica and the delegation visited the island nation of Bahrain. In the capital of Manama, the delegation met with Shaikh Khalifa bin Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the newly-appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, who briefed them on matters related to Bahrain, the Jewish people, and Israel.
The Centre, founded in 2017, works to enlighten and engage young people around the globe as a means to combat terrorism, extremism, and radicalization.
Though Bahraini Jews constitute one of the smallest Jewish communities in the world, Jews have lived in the region for nearly 1,500 years. In the wake of World War II, anti-British sentiment in the region gave rise to riots targeting the Jewish community, reducing the population from 1,500 to less than 300. Though the kingdom had no official relations with Israel until the 1993 Oslo agreements, Jews have lived there in peace for the past three decades, and have seen increased acceptance and political participation during the reign of King Hamad. King Hamad has served as head of state since 1999, and in 2004, rescinded the country’s boycott on Israel in exchange for a free trade agreement with the United States. In 2015, King Hamad and Bahrain officially marked the celebration of Hanukkah for the first time, with Jewish and Muslim Bahrainis celebrating together.
The delegation’s trip is in celebration of the Abraham Accords, a series of joint normalization statements mediated by the United States in 2020 which helped establish diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain. A game-changer in Middle East diplomacy, the Accords marked the first instance of Arab-Israeli normalization since the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was signed in 1994 by King Hussein and Yitzhak Rabin (Z”L).
As Rabbi Woznica continues his trip, he looks forward to sharing his experience and observations with our Stephen Wise Temple community.