Reflections on a Remarkable Diplomatic Delegation to United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel.
Rabbi David Woznica
July 14, 2023 | 25 Tamuz, 5783
Last month, Rabbi David Woznica joined with Zionist rabbis from across the denominational spectrum on a trip to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Israel. The delegation was brought by the governments of those countries to celebrate the Abraham Accords, a set of 2020 agreements that initially normalized diplomatic relations between Arab states Bahrain and the UAE, and Israel, with Morocco and Sudan joining soon thereafter.
Over a nine-day period, the diplomatic delegation, composed of the executive committee of the Zionist Rabbinic Coalition (ZRC), met and had briefings with over 20 leaders in all three nations, concluding with an illuminating Q&A with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his Cabinet Room. Rabbi Woznica chronicled his trip in a special guest article with Rabbi Nolan Lebovits in the Jewish Journal last week, and spoke about the experience last Friday night during Shabbat Evening Services.
On the trip, Rabbi Woznica met with government officials and Jewish community leaders from each of the three countries, including His Excellency Dr. Ali Al Nuaimi, Director of the Manara Center, an architect of the Abraham Accords, former Chairman of Defense Affairs, Interior, and Foreign Relations Committee of the UAE Federal National Council. Rabbi Woznica also met with former United States Ambassador to Oman, Marc J. Sievers, who serves as the director of the American Jewish Committee office in Abu Dhabi; Ross Kriel, the leader of the UAE’s Jewish community; the Israeli consul general to the UAE, Liron Zaslansky; the newly-appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bahrain’s King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, Shaikh Khalifa bin Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa; and Natan Sharansky, a past guest of Wise and now the Chairman for the Institute of Global Antisemitism and Policy. In an hour-long briefing, he discussed Ukraine, Jewish identity and Israel, and antisemitism.
Watch this week’s video and all Shabbat sermons HERE.
