Are The Arab Gulf States Really Ready for a Regional Alliance With Israel?

“[Besides Egypt and Jordan,] many other states in the region recognize that Israel is not their enemy. They recognize that Israel is their ally. Our common enemies are ISIS and Iran. Our common goals are security, prosperity and peace. I believe that in the years ahead we will work together to achieve these goals.”
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, in speech to UN General Assembly, September 22, 2016

Is The Enemy of My Enemy -- My Friend, or My Ally?

At a time when there are still some who insist that Israel is isolated in the international community, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel is in fact building new friendships and alliances. In his speech at the end of December last year, criticizing Israel, Kerry described Israel's friends as United Kingdom, France and Russia. But Netanyahu's recent trip to Singapore and Australia extends Israel's circle beyond that. Meanwhile closer to home, Netanyahu has visited Africa, visiting Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

And then, even closer to home, are the Arab countries.

Israel has diplomatic relations with Egypt and Jordan.
It has no relations with Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Israel has unofficial relations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and Oman.

Is Abbas' Tantrum The Result of the Success of Netanyau's Latest Strategy?

Last week it was Mahmoud Abbas against the world as Abbas decries pressure from the US, Russia and the Arab world:

“Our relations with everyone must be good, but no one will dictate to us any position or idea...Therefore, let us think as Palestinians. I will think about Palestine, not Washington or Moscow”

President Abbas speaks to Israeli journalists in Ramallah, January 21, 2016.
 of Israel (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

What is going on here?

Are The Saudis Now Accommodating Iran Under US Pressure?

The following by Jonathan Spyer is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

Saudi Shuffle

by Jonathan Spyer
The Jerusalem Post
May 22, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3830/saudi-shuffle

A number of recent Saudi moves and official statements have led to speculation regarding a possible shift on the kingdom's stance toward Iran.

The Saudis appear to be moving, at least on a declarative level, away from a position according to which Iranian ambitions are a threat to be resisted – toward an attempt to accommodate Tehran.

The speculation regarding a changed Saudi stance rests largely on three recent public events.

The first was the meeting last month between newly minted Saudi ambassador to Tehran Abdul Rahman al-Shehri, and former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

Shehri demonstrably kissed Rafsanjani on the forehead during the meeting. In addition to displaying the depth of the ambassador's patriotism, this act was held by some commentators to portend a renewed Saudi determination to set relations with Iran on a new footing.

Jonathan Spyer: Shifting Mideast Sands Reveal New Alliances

The following by Jonathan Spyer is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Shifting Mideast Sands Reveal New Alliances

by Jonathan Spyer
PJ Media
March 14, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3795/shifting-mideast-sands-reveal-new-alliances

Jonathan Spyer

A number of events in recent weeks cast light on the current intersecting lines of conflict in the Middle East. They reflect a region in flux, in which new bonds are being formed, and old ones torn asunder.

But amid the confusion, a new topography is emerging.

This was the month in which a long-existent split in the Sunni Arab world turned into a gaping fissure. On March 5th, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates announced that they were withdrawing their ambassadors from the Emirate of Qatar.

This decision was clearly a response to Qatar's continued support and sponsorship of the Muslim Brotherhood movement. This movement is regarded as a subversive threat by the three Gulf states. They are worried by the Brotherhood's capacity for internal subversion.

Arab Gulf States Have More To Lose From Obama's Middle East Policy Than Israel

The following by Jonathan Spyer is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Confidence Game: Losing American Support, the Gulf States Scramble

by Jonathan Spyer
The Tower
January 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3713/gulf-states-american-support

An increasing body of evidence has begun pointing to a major shift in American foreign policy in the Middle East. Over the course of the Obama Administration's tenure, amid the turmoil of the Arab spring, the United States has shown itself unwilling to defend some of its traditional allies (such as the military in Egypt), or to stand by its own threats and red lines (such as punishing the Syrian regime for using chemical weapons); in many cases willing to cede significant influence to other outside powers (such as Russia); and to attempt to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran that is far more conciliatory to Iranian demands than had been the previous policy (such as allowing for uranium enrichment).

Much analysis and attention has been focused on the implications for Israel of these changes in American policy. But Israel is not the biggest loser in the region. On the contrary, Israel is far from isolated in the new Middle East. In fact, its more stable and western-oriented Arab neighbors seem to have more in common with the foreign policy perspective of the Jewish state than at any time in recent history.

Instead, those who have the most to lose are the oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia.

Arlene Kushner: Proposed Bedouin Law Not Dead; The Saudi-Israeli Handshake

From Arlene Kushner:
December 18, 2013

A Bit of a Mess

More than a bit, actually, as Israel is digging out from the snowstorm of the century.  It is the story that has taken headlines in the news for days: 

Remote communities totally snowed in.  Roads blocked by trees that came down (because the snow is very heavy).  Black ice. Power outages.  Babies delivered in cars that didn't reach the hospital in time.  Schools closed in some areas.  Meetings cancelled.

Credit: JPost

~~~~~~~~~~

We're on the way back to normal. But the progress has been slow because this is such an unusual phenomenon here.  People don't own snow shovels (I wouldn't know where to buy one!) and so many sidewalks remain covered in half-melted snow that is still freezing at night.  What is more, there is insufficient municipal equipment for the clearing of every side street.  This is a function, in part, of the rarity with which the equipment would be used, and, as well, a function of the diverse and more pressing demands made on a limited budget.

~~~~~~~~~~

But if the equipment for good snow clearing is not the norm in this area, politicizing the situation sure is.  Here's a chance to blame Netanyahu for not being more prepared, in light of the forecast.  Could the government have been better prepared?  I'm not going to go there.  Perhaps. But I also know that the damages caused by a natural event cannot all be anticipated or prevented, and it's foolish to pretend otherwise.

And what do you say about those people (few in number) who were foolish enough to have ventured out - towards Jerusalem, which is uphill - in the height of the storm the other day, with children in the car?  The IDF had to rescue them.  And rescue them, they did.

~~~~~~~~~~

Even as we dig out, the world does go on - although, I confess, much of what's happening rather makes news of the snow appealing.

But let's start with good news:

MEQ Winter 2014: Bandar bin Sultan's Botched Syrian Intervention

The following by Hilal Khashan is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

Bandar bin Sultan's Botched Syrian Intervention
Dateline

by Hilal Khashan
Middle East Quarterly
Winter 2014

In an untypically abrasive speech, Saudi King Abdullah welcomed the ouster of Egypt's president Muhammad Morsi, stating: "Let the entire world know that the people and government of the Saudi kingdom stood and still stand today with our brothers in Egypt against terrorism, extremism, and sedition."[1] However dramatic, this apparent shift from Riyadh's traditional accommodation of perceived enemies, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and its regional affiliates, to a more daring foreign policy is too little too late to reverse the decline of its regional power. And nowhere was this weakness more starkly demonstrated than in Riyadh's botched Syrian intervention, led by its most celebrated diplomat—Prince Bandar bin Sultan.

Daniel Pipes: Saudis Bristle at Obama's Outreach to Iran

The following by Daniel Pipes is reposted here with permission:

Saudis Bristle at Obama's Outreach to Iran

by Daniel Pipes
The Washington Times
December 3, 2013

http://www.danielpipes.org/13720/saudis-iran-obama

The "Joint Plan of Action" signed with Iran by the so-called P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S.) on Nov. 24 in Geneva caused Shiite Arabs to celebrate, Sunni Arabs to worry, and Saudis to panic. The Saudi response will have far-reaching and unpredictable consequences.

Jubilant crowds welcomed the Iranian negotiator home from Geneva.

As Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Javad Zarif, brought home a deal worth about US$23 billion to Iran,Arab Shiites fell into step with Tehran. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq expressed his "full support for this step." President Bashar al-Assad of Syria welcomed the agreement as "the best path for securing peace and stability." Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri of Lebanon called it the "deal of the century." And Hezbollah considered the agreement a "great victory for Iran."

The Realignment of the Middle East In Response to the Iranian Threat

The following by Jonathan Spyer is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

After the Pax Americana

by Jonathan Spyer
PJ Media
November 9, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3669/after-pax-americana

A report this week in the pro-Hizballah newspaper Al-Akhbar claimed that the Turks have expelled a number of Saudi intelligence officers from their soil, because of disputes between the two countries over policy toward Syria and Egypt.

Whatever the veracity of the report (Al-Akhbar can have a vivid imagination), a quote in the article from an un-named Turkish source succeeds in pointing out pithily and concisely the current core strategic dynamic in the Middle East.

The quote is "Turkish officials believe Saudi Arabia, along with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, are strategically working against the interests of two different regional blocs: Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and Iraq on one front, and Turkey, Qatar, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood on the other."

If Turkish officials do indeed believe this, then they have it right. There are today three discernible de facto alliances operating in the Middle East. Interestingly, for the first time in half a century, none of the major blocs engaged are clearly aligned with the U.S. and the West.

Let's look at these three blocs in a little more detail.

Obama Missteps Help Bring Israel and Gulf States Together

The following by Jonathan Spyer is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

Quietly, Israel and the Gulf States Draw Closer Together

by Jonathan Spyer
PJ Media
October 24, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3651/israel-gulf-states

Recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have fueled renewed speculation of behind-the-scenes links between Israel and the Gulf monarchies.

Netanyahu, speaking at the UN, said that "the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and the emergence of other threats in our region have led many of our Arab neighbors to recognize, finally recognize, that Israel is not their enemy."

He added: "This affords us the opportunity to overcome the historic animosities and build new relationships, new friendships, new hopes."

There have been subsequent rumors of visits by senior Gulf officials to Israel, to discuss matters of common interest.

Why Is Saudi Arabia Suddenly So Shy When It Comes To The UN?

There are various reasons why Arabs feel the need to cloak their real concerns behind a façade of verbiage about the Palestinians. The truly puzzling question is why the West hasn’t yet learned to look behind this verbiage to the telltale actions...
Evelyn Gordon, What the Saudis Really Care About in Commentary

This month, it seems as if Saudi Arabia was getting bashful around the UN.

First it was reported in the beginning of this month that Saudi Arabia scrapped UN speech in protest over Syria, Israel:

Saudi Arabia's frustration at international inaction over Syria and the Palestinians led it to cancel its speech at the United Nations General Assembly for the first time ever this week, a diplomatic source said

While the Saudis claim to have equal concerns about Syria and the Palestinian question, Evelyn Gordon noted What the Saudis Really Care About

David P. Goldman: The World Learns to Manage Without the US

The following by David P. Goldman is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

World learns to manage without the US

by David P. Goldman
Asia Times
August 19, 2013http://www.meforum.org/3590/manage-without-us

David P. Goldman

The giant sucking sound you here, I said on August 15 on CNBC's The Kudlow Report, is the implosion of America's influence in the Middle East. Vladimir Putin's August 17 offer of Russian military assistance to the Egyptian army after US President Barack Obama cancelled joint exercises with the Egyptians denotes a post-Cold-War low point in America's standing. Along with Russia, Saudi Arabia and China are collaborating to contain the damage left by American blundering. They have being doing this quietly for more than a year.

The pipe-dream has popped of Egyptian democracy led by a Muslim Brotherhood weaned from its wicked past, but official Washington has not woken up. Egypt was on the verge of starvation when military pushed out Mohammed Morsi. Most of the Egyptian poor had been living on nothing but state-subsidized bread for months, and even bread supplies were at risk. The military brought in US$12 billion of aid from the Gulf States, enough to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. That's the reality. It's the one thing that Russia, Saudi Arabia and Israel agree about.

Oh Oh: Virginia's Islamic Saudi Academy Has Curriculum Just Like "They Are Used to Back in Saudi Arabia"

The following by Cinnamon Stillwell is reposted here with permission of Campus Watch:

Why Saudis Send Their Kids to the Islamic Saudi Academy

by Cinnamon Stillwell  •  Jun 12, 2013 at 1:24 pm

For some time Campus Watch has followed the dubious goings-on of the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA), a Saudi government-funded private pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade school in Fairfax County, Virginia geared towards the children of Saudi citizens. A June 3, 2013, Arab News op-ed is the latest addition to our archive.

Predictably, the author, retired Saudi Navy Commodore Abdulateef Al-Mulhim--who, to be fair, once wrote an excellent article on anti-Israelism in the Arab world--has nothing but praise for ISA, even though it is the subject of an ongoing U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) investigation into its Islamist curriculum. His glowing description provides an inadvertent glimpse into ISA's true purpose [emphasis added]:

Forget Iran -- What Are The Chances of Saudi Arabia Developing A Nuclear Capability?

The following by Naser al-Tamimi is reposted here with permission Middle East Forum:

Will Riyadh Get the Bomb?
Saudi Arabia's Atomic Ambitions

by Naser al-Tamimi
Middle East Quarterly
Spring 2013 (view PDF)

http://www.meforum.org/3509/saudi-arabia-nuclear-bomb

As the impasse over Tehran's nuclear program worsens, those most likely to be directly effected by an Iranian bomb are showing greater alarm. While the media fixates on Israel and its possible reaction, other regional players have no less at stake.

Despite Riyadh's long-held advocacy of making the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, there has been much speculation in the last two decades about the possibility of its acquiring or developing nuclear weapons should Tehran obtain the bomb.[1] In the words of King Abdullah: "If Iran developed nuclear weapons … everyone in the region would do the same,"[2] a sentiment echoed by Prince Turki al-Faisal, former head of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Directorate.[3] Has Riyadh decided to go down the nuclear road, or is this bluster a desperate bid to stop Tehran's nuclear program dead in its tracks?

First Saudi Arabian Ad About Domestic Abuse of Women -- Now What?

In Saudi Arabia, the government has started an advertising campaign to combat the problem of domestic abuse of women:

NBC reports, Saudis put a black eye on domestic abuse

Saudi Arabia, a country where women still are not permitted to drive by themselves, has launched a provocative new anti-domestic abuse campaign.

The startling ad shows a Saudi woman in a typical veil sporting a black eye. Underneath the photo, a caption reads: “Some things can’t be covered; Fighting women's abuse together."

The campaign, funded by the King Khalid Foundation, aims to provide legal protection for women and children victims of abuse in Saudi Arabia, and is encouraging Saudis to report cases of domestic violence to nearby help centers.

The article goes on to describe criticisms of the ad and gives a broader background on the kinds of problems and restrictions that women face in Saudi Arabia:

Will Israel Get The Last Laugh Over Saudi Arabia When It Comes To Oil?

When Later is Better

by Jonathan Rosenblum

The first natural gas has begun to flow from the offshore Tamir field to the Ashdod processing plant. The Tamar field and the even larger Leviathan field are estimated to hold enough natural gas to supply Israel's energy needs for many decades to come, and to turn Israel into an energy exporter.

In addition to the offshore finds of natural gas, Israel is estimated to have shale oil reserves equal in volume to the known oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Besides enriching Israel, the new found energy resources hold out the hope of lessening Israel's diplomatic isolation. Western dependence on Arab oil has always been a crucial factor behind the propensity of many Western governments to curry favor with Arab states by adopting a diplomatic stance hostile to Israel.

Oh-Oh! Attorney General Eric Holder Wants To Apply Saudi Justice in the US!

The Saudi Gazette reports that US shows interest in Saudi counter-terrorism program -- but the discussion, led by US Attorney General Eric Holder, turned to the justice system in Saudi Arabi in general.

And that is when Holder started getting scary:

“During this visit to Riyadh, I have had discussions with our Saudi partners about our joint programs to promote the rule of law and protect the rights and interests of our citizens,” he said.

The Middle East Media Sampler 2/14/2013: Obama And The Decline of the Western World

From +David Gerstman:

1) Decline and its consequences

In October, 2009, Charles Krauthammer wrote, Decline is a choice:

The president then denounced the idea of elevating any group of nations above others--which takes care, I suppose, of the Security Council, the G-20, and the Western alliance. And just to make the point unmistakable, he denounced "alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long-gone Cold War" as making "no sense in an interconnected world." What does that say about NATO? Of our alliances with Japan and South Korea? Or even of the European Union? 

This is nonsense. But it is not harmless nonsense.

Saudi Interfaith Dialogue in Austria Contradicted By Islamist Intolerance At Home

The following by Raymond Ibrahim is reposted here with permission from Middle East Forum:

Saudi Hypocrisy At Its Best

by Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPageMagazine.com
February 8, 2013

http://www.meforum.org/3448/saudi-hypocrisy

Few things offer surreal experiences as when Islam and the West interact—when 7^th century primordialism encounters 21^st century relativism. Consider the issue of "interfaith dialogue." In principle, it is a decent thing: Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others trying to reach a common ground and professing mutual respect. But what does one make of the gross contradictions that emerge when a human-rights violating nation calls for "dialogue," even as it enforces religious intolerance on its own turf?

Enter Saudi Arabia. Birthplace of Islam, the Arabian kingdom is also the one Muslim nation that regularly sponsors interfaith initiatives in the West—even as its official policy back home is to demonize and persecute the very faiths it claims to want to have an interfaith dialogue with.