Israelis want to talk about Iran with Bahrain’s Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, but Al Khalifa wants to talk about peace.
Al Khalifa, who also holds the position of deputy secretary-general of the Supreme Defense Council and is in charge of the Israel portfolio at the ministry, was in Israel for four days this week to deepen ties between the countries 11 months after they announced diplomatic relations.
Along with meetings with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, President Isaac Herzog, and the Head of the IDF Strategic Planning and Cooperation Directorate Maj.-Gen. Tal Kelman, Al Khalifa held meetings with major research institutions – the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, The Institute for National Security Studies and The Abba Eban Center – in his capacity as the chairman of Derasat, the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies.
Al Khalifa also went diving with Foreign Ministry Director-General Alon Ushpiz, resulting in a unique photo of each waving his country’s flag underwater.
But Al Khalifa did not only make waves in the sea, as is his wont as an avid diver. Rather, it was his remarks about Iran that made the biggest headlines.
“The [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal] has caused more instigation and extremism in many different regions across the Middle East,” Al Khalifa said at a briefing with Israeli journalists at the beginning of the week. “[Were] there any results that we have come out with? On the contrary. The JCPOA fueled crises across the Middle East.”
Speaking exclusively with The Jerusalem Post, Al Khalifa said he felt his remarks had been misconstrued.
“The Abraham Accords and relations between Bahrain and Israel were done for the purpose of peace and stability and the advancement of the region,” Al Khalifa emphasized. “There are common security challenges, but we come from Bahrain with a message of peace and prosperity. His majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has paved the way for taking that courageous step to build this relationship.”
STILL, AL KHALIFA had plenty to say on the joint efforts by Israel and Bahrain to address the Iranian threat.
“We do have collaboration on the security front,” he said. “It’s very important.”
The undersecretary explained that Bahrain prefers to be transparent about its partnerships with Israel: “It’s nothing to shy away from. The relationship is based on trust and mutual interests. We are contributing on security and saving the lives of innocent civilians... Regional stability [and] security require collaboration, and there are continuous efforts to work collectively to address common challenges.”
When it comes to Iran’s nuclear program, Al Khalifa said he was unsure what the right alternative is to the JCPOA, and that the indirect negotiations between the US and Iran are currently at a stalemate.
“The US has been updating the foreign ministers of the [Gulf Cooperation Council] on the developments,” he said, but that “GCC countries, including Bahrain, have expressed their concerns that the deal is not addressing other concerns in the region like ballistic missiles and other malign behavior. It seems apparent the talks will not address these. They will remain pending.”
Bahrain has acutely felt the impact of Iranian aggression, because it is an island country and Iran has been attacking international shipping, and because of Iran-inspired domestic extremism.
“Maritime security is a very critical area the global community needs to focus on – having free flow of navigation, big dependence of energy from the region, and a growing volume of trade via the sea” said Al Khalifa. “Bahrain has always paid attention to maritime security, being an archipelago.”
The recent attacks on ships, he said, have been “quite alarming. It is the responsibility of the international community to ensure the maritime security... Bahrain continues to work closely with friends and allies to do so.”
Israel, the US, the UK and the G7 have said Iran was behind those attacks, with the US Military’s CENTCOM sharing photographs to show that drone components found aboard one vessel were the same as Iranian UAVs.
Al Khalifa also said “it’s no secret Iran has continuously interfered in [the] domestic affairs of Bahrain. We always made public the interception of weapons or attacks on our security forces.”
The official spoke poignantly of the impact Iran has had on some Arab youth, saying that “instead of focusing their time, effort, and energy on education and training and sports and voluntary work and building a family, some... would allow themselves to be extreme in a way that would allow themselves to be exposed to military training, to be a puppet of Iran... and waste their future.”
In some instances, extremists were found smuggling arms, targeting Bahraini police and even establishing IED (improvised explosive device) factories.
“It’s a shame,” Al Khalifa said. “In Bahrain, there is a sense that at the end of the day, those segments of Bahrain should be given opportunities to rethink and return to their normal lives and be productive members of society.”
WHILE IRAN is a topic that came up between Al Khalifa and many of his interlocutors, the overarching goal of the trip was to broaden and deepen the relations between Israel and Bahrain beyond security concerns.
Asked why Bahrain’s king took the courageous step of bucking decades of Arab boycotts and nonrecognition of Israel to establish diplomatic relations, Al Khalifa said: “Our Foreign Policy is built on His Majesty’s vision for peace and stability in the region. The longstanding methods have never achieved this, it was time to find a new approach to bringing hope to the peoples of the region”
The 2019 “Peace to Prosperity” conference organized by the US and hosted by Bahrain – meant to provide economic incentives for Israeli-Palestinian peace – culminated in the signing of the Abraham Accords in September, Al Khalifa explained.
The upcoming first anniversary of the signing on September 15 “should be something to celebrate,” he said. “It’s historic. This date should not just pass by quietly. The future is ours to take, but we realize it is a long road ahead and we are ready for the challenge.”
Al Khalifa says he feels the Bahrain-Israel relationship has “very solid foundations to build bilateral ties on many fronts.”
On the government-to-government level, he has visited Israel three times, accompanying Bahrain’s foreign minister and industry, trade and tourism minister last year, while departing National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat led an Israeli delegation to Manama. Al Khalifa and Ushpiz discussed in their meetings this week preparations for Lapid to go to Bahrain as well. The date of that visit is yet undetermined.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry has developed a 10-year “Warm Peace Strategy” for ties with Israel.
Al Khalifa wants to ensure that all Bahrainis enjoy the fruits of peace with Israel, in areas like food and water security – the national water company Mekorot signed an agreement to work on desalination for Bahrain’s water authority – healthcare, solutions for people with disabilities, economic opportunities and more.
Al Khalifa expressed hope that better corona conditions will allow direct Gulf Air flights between Tel Aviv and Manama soon.
“I look forward to developing people-to-people cultural exchanges and a direct line between our countries,” he said.
In Israel, Al Khalifa said he encountered “nothing but support, enthusiasm, excitement and dedication.”
The undersecretary said he was surprised to be asked if Bahrain was hesitant to further develop relations with Israel; and when asked if clashes between Israel and Hamas in May slowed down the process, he said: “Not really.”
When it comes to the Palestinians, Bahrain supports any effort to bring peace, he said.
The “Peace to Prosperity” conference “was a successful event,” despite the Palestinian Authority not attending. Economic prosperity and stability is an important point to highlight, Al Khalifa said, emphasizing that Bahrain supports a two-state solution.
“There should be a continuation of the momentum that was created,” he said. “Should any opportunity arise to involve all parties for discussion, Bahrain is always willing to [offer] support.”
AL KHALIFA ALSO emphasized the importance of the Jewish community to Bahrain, by far the oldest in the Gulf.
There are currently about 30 Jews left in Bahrain, but there are references to Jews living in the region in seventh-century Arabic sources, as well as in Benjamin of Tudela’s 12th-century travelogue. The modern community was established in the 1880s, and there were 500-600 members in the mid-20th century, most of whom left amid rioting following the 1967 Six Day War.
Despite the community’s small size, it has prominent members in Bahraini society, such as former ambassador to the US Houda Nonoo, and Nancy Khedouri, a member of Bahrain’s National Assembly. Al Khalifa also said many families in Manama feel strong ties to a famous Jewish midwife, Um Jan.
“We take pride in having Bahraini Jews as part of our social fabric,” Al Khalifa said. “There has been a synagogue in the heart of Manama since 1930, right in the heart of the old capital, which indicates the rulers of Bahrain provided the necessary protection, but also did not shy away from having Jews there. The synagogue is not tucked away in a village or outside the capital. I think this says a lot.”
Al Khalifa was excited to hear from other members of the delegation that when they asked a stranger on the street to take their photo, they found that he was originally from Bahrain, and Al Khalifa was enthusiastic about learning more Jewish history at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People (formerly Beit Hatfutsot), on the Tel Aviv University campus.
“We in Bahrain engaged with analysts and researchers in Israeli think tanks to better understand the people of Israel and the history of the Jewish people, to understand the challenges,” he said. “The values of coexistence, tolerance, peace are embodied in Bahrain. I am trying as much as possible to share the story of Bahrain, and to demonstrate that only through peace and coexistence will we be able to live together as [a] common region with a common future.”