Dear Friends, 

As we prepare to enter into our Yamim Nora’im, these Days of Awe, which asks us to both reflect and begin anew, I am especially delighted and grateful for the peace treaty signed yesterday by Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The historic treaties will broadly normalize relations between two of Israel’s Arab neighbors, including the opening of embassies in each of the nations for the first time. It is, indeed, as some call it, a “retroactive victory” for Israel, over one of the greatest threats it has ever faced. In 2020, peace with Israel is now being driven by the same forces that once led the campaign against its legitimacy. 

While I believe this treaty solves some of the complex issues at the heart of a future comprehensive Middle East peace agreement, this accord is also an important opportunity for the Israeli government to extend a renewed outreach to Palestinian leadership. It is, indeed, a powerful and unique opportunity to see a viable Palestinian state in exchange for an end to the claim of “Palestinian return” to Israeli sovereign land.  

Israeli leadership chose broad normalization over regional annexation. As the UAE Foreign Minister said recently, “Today, we are already witnessing a change at the heart of the Middle East, a change that will send hope around the world,” so may it be for us all. 

May this new year of 5781 afford us peace and renewed hope for the region, for our communities, and for the greater world.  

• Rabbi Jason Nevarez