We are living in miraculous times as illustrated by our 11th President, Isaac Herzog, visiting leaders in Bahrain and the UAE. And there is an emerging myriad of opportunities for our democratically elected new government to create a better future for our children and grandchildren.
His Majesty, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain rolled out the red carpet with the highest level of Abrahamic hospitality for President Herzog. Bahraini Foreign Minister, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, recently recalled, “I met with his excellency Netanyahu at the White House on a very bright day, after a rainy day… [this was symbolic of a bright future]. I really look forward to working with Netanyahu’s government to develop further on the successful achievement that we have together to strengthen peace, and to work together to send the message of how the ensuring benefits of the peace accords can widen the circle of peace.”
Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco are all monarchies with stable governments. In contrast, since the signing of the accords just two years ago, Israel has changed its prime minister three times, and the US has changed its president once. I, and many other Israelis are exhausted by this change. We, the people, crave stability and security and believe that our new peace partners want the same. We will all benefit from a cohesive, less critical and more complimentary government.
Accordingly, I challenge each Knesset member:
• To make our country and our 25th Knesset the most cohesive and productive one in Israeli history.
• To agree that all leaders and all people are on the same team.
• To agree that we all yearn for security and prosperity for all citizens.
• To agree to disagree.
• To identify the difference between toxic speech and constructive speech?.
Our expectations
• We, the people, want our leaders to help us to become a more unified, strong and proud country.
• We, the people, want our leaders to unite to fight together for the future of our children and our grandchildren.
• We, the people, want our leaders to lead by example in order to demonstrate how to resolve conflicting views in a respectful manner.
• We, the people, have voted and selected you, because we believe that you can lead us to a brighter and better future.
• We, the people, respectfully request that all members of the 25th Knesset rise to the challenge and lead our country to success in every way by working in a unified manner.
• We call on the opposition to play its part as well.
Opposition leaders, can you respectfully refrain from mudslinging slander that harms us all? Please accept your loss and choose a different path other than the toxic slander of our current government. Please rise to the challenge and support the people’s voice as reflected in our current government.
Can we all learn from the lawsuit that Ehud Olmert lost for verbally slaying the Netanyahu family? The court decided that Olmert abused the right to free speech by using words in a toxic and malicious manner. Interestingly, the right to free speech protects a person’s ability to criticize public figures, and still the courts found Olmert guilty of defamation and punishable by awarding money to Netanyahu family members.
Let’s unite as the only Jewish nation in the world, at a critical time when antisemitism and anti-Zionism is at an all-time high.
I just had the privilege of participating in the first Abrahamic Business Circle conference in Israel, where diplomats and business people come from over thirty countries to promote economic diplomacy. Many high-caliber, first-time visitors to Israel expressed their desire to conduct business and investments with their Israeli counterparts. In fact, a Dutch and Spanish firm signed a merger deal at the Tel Aviv event, which translates into jobs for more than 350 people.
President Herzog applauded the event with the words: “I commend and congratulate the Abrahamic Business Circle on your critical mission, building peace through commercial partnerships. I share your commitment to supporting the growing relations of the Middle East.”
President Herzog’s recent trip to Bahrain and the UAE, as well as his grant to the extension of Netanyahu’s time period during which to form a government, all indicate his attempts to stabilize Israel for our internal and external good.
In the news media of some of our new peace partners, for example, the Bahrain News Agency, blessings are bestowed upon their own leaders for their protection and preservation. Similarly, there is a custom in synagogues to pray for the government of a host country and/or the government of the State of Israel. I join in prayer for President Herzog’s success in bringing us much-needed stability. I pray that the potential members of the future Knesset have the wisdom and foresight to work together.
I hope that a government is formed. I also hope that our government acts as a robust and respectful democracy during these historical times. The sky is the limit pursuant to the normalization agreements with our Emirati, Bahraini and Moroccan peace partners, who all share our desire for greater stability. We can only achieve this once our leaders lead by example.
The need for national healing and unity could not be stronger than it is today. The benefits of rising to the challenge will only contribute to making our remarkable country, Israel, the very best version of herself in her 75th year.
The writer, Dame Joy Malka Rothenberg is global ambassador for the Abrahamic Business Circle. She is a signatory of the Jordan River Water Covenant between Jordan and Israel, and creates win-win solutions in business and governmental relations. She is also a recipient of the Bloomberg Award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year as well as the State of Ohio’s Humanitarian Award.