For Israel, an extraordinary summit reveals a path to coexistence
Historic Summit: Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (C-L) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shake hands with Bahrains Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani (L) and UAEs Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan following the Negev summit in the Israeli kibbutz of Sde Boker, on March 28, 2022. By Getty Images
While the world pays more attention to an actor slapping a comedian, something remarkable and long unimaginable is happening in Israel. Four Arab leaders are visiting, representing the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco and Bahrain, along with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. And the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates is sounding like a novelist as he suggests that curiosity — yes, the desire to know — is the antidote to hatred.
“It’s new for I think Abdullatif and Nasser and myself to be in Israel. This is our first time,” Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister, said in his closing statement, referring to Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani and Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, all first-time visitors.
“So if we are curious sometimes, and we want to know things and learn, it’s because Israel has been part of this region for a very long time, and we’ve not known each other. So it’s time to catch up, to build a stronger relationship.”
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, were also at the historic summit in Sde Boker, Israel, the desert town in southern Israel where David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, lived out his days.
“When I see 300,000 Israelis visiting the UAE in the the last year and a half, and at the same time I see two million visitors visiting the Israeli Pavilion and Expo in only the last six months, it says how curious and how much we want to know each other,” the Emirati foreign minister continued, speaking in English; his comments were aired on Israeli television with Hebrew subtitles.
A Resonant Message: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie specks during the Inauguration of Turin International Book Fair on October 14, 2021 in Turin, Italy. The Turin International Book Fair returns to Lingotto Fiere after almost two years from the beginning of the COVID pandemic. By Getty Images
“And this is what I think goes against what happened yesterday. It’s by us standing together, it’s by our people-to-people relationship, it’s by creating a better environment for our businesses to work with each other, that is how we can go after the narrative of hate and incitement and terror. We will prevail, no doubt.”
Al Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister, was referring to the terror attack in Hadera, Israel, yesterday, that killed Yazan Falah and Shirel Aboukrat, two Border Police officers who were both 19 years old.
The perpetrators were two Islamic State supporters who were Israeli citizens. This comes after last week’s terror attack in Beersheva which killed four and wounded two, by an attacker previously linked to ISIS. The horrific footage, concluding with a passerby who fatally shot the knife-wielding attacker as he lunged toward a bus driver trying to de-escalate the situation, has been widely shared on social media.
The extraordinary words of the Emirati foreign minister, suggesting that the antidote to hatred and terrorism is human curiosity, echo what critically acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said defines a remarkable person.
Asked by NBC News in 2014, “What qualities does a remarkable man possess?” Adichie responded: “Kindness, honesty, curiosity, intelligence.”
. Adichie’s definition of “honesty” is also worth rereading, on a day when Arab leaders are visiting Israel for the first time.
“Honesty,” she said, “means putting aside self-protection, self-preservation, self-aggrandizing. And speaking and acting the truth.” Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has reminded us all that honesty and truth begin with curiosity — with the desire to actually know.
Aviya Kushner is The Forward’s language columnist and the author of Wolf Lamb Bomb and The Grammar of God. Follow her on Twitter @AviyaKushner
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