Israel-Arab ties: The one Trump policy Biden should keep - opinion
While embracing a singular Trump achievement may not play well with Mr. Biden’s Democratic base, it is nonetheless good for the country.
By ELI EPSTEIN, MIKE HOLTZMAN(FROM LEFT) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al Zayani and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed wave from a balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, after a signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords on S(photo credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)
When it comes to foreign policy, President-elect Joe Biden will focus considerable effort on reversing the ship of state of the Trump administration. Mr. Biden has already pledged to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, revisit the Iran nuclear deal, and strengthen NATO, all of which President Trump disavowed. But one aspect of Mr. Trump’s foreign policy that Mr. Biden should maintain and even build upon is the diplomatic breakthrough he achieved between Arab nations and Israel. The full and unconditional recognition of Israel by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and quite possibly soon, Saudi Arabia, are major achievements that will transform the security and stature of America’s key regional ally.Arab diplomatic recognition of Israel seemed like a pipe dream for decades, and eluded past presidential administrations, Democratic and Republican. The last country in the broader region to recognize Israel was Jordan, back in 1994. But the tumblers fell into place under Mr. Trump, including his mutual desire with Arab leaders to isolate Iran, his reflexive support and even kinship between with the right-wing Likud government in Israel, the visionary leadership of Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed bin Zayed, and Mr. Trump’s personal fixation with high-profile “big wins.”While embracing a singular Trump achievement may not play well with Mr. Biden’s Democratic base – which wants nothing less than a full-throated repudiation of Trumpism – it is nonetheless good for the country. Not only will Mr. Biden’s support help rein in regional allies who clearly showed a preference for Trump (and can make things difficult for Mr. Biden for four years in hotspots like Lebanon, Syria, and Iran), Arab solidarity with Israel will also help check Iran’s regional troublemaking, keep pressure on Tehran to renegotiate a better nuclear deal, and open new commercial and cultural opportunities that promote peace and stability in an historically fraught region.Mr. Biden should quickly move to consolidate these relationships by appointing a special envoy for economic development in the region. Mutual economic growth through trade and technology transfer is the surest way to give each country a stake in the success of the other, and to provide proof of concept to skeptics and holdouts in the region, such as Qatar. The envoy can facilitate the opening of respective economic and cultural offices, lead trade delegations between the Gulf Cooperation Council and Israel, promote scientific and technological exchanges, and promote preferential procurement policies that favor Israeli and US companies.Mr. Biden should also use the diplomatic momentum in the region to bring Israel’s most-strategically proximate neighbor, Lebanon, to the table, pledging a hefty reconstruction budget in exchange for recognition of Israel, and for marginalizing the terrorist Iranian proxy group Hezbollah. Lebanon is bankrupt and desperately needs international help; the dire economic situation and the large protests against the Hezbollah-controlled government could help bring Christian and Sunni factions to the table.Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is off to the Arabian Gulf this week to try to repair a long rift between its regional leaders – the UAE and Saudi Arabia on one side, and Qatar on the other. Qatar was expelled from the regional club of nations for its flirtations with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and its coziness with Tehran.The president-elect’s team should hold its collective tongue and wish the outgoing president well. It is Mr. Trump’s prerogative to make new diplomatic overtures as a lame duck. A strong, unified Gulf Cooperation Council would be a good thing for America and people of goodwill everywhere. It would also be – thanks to Mr. Trump’s go-for-broke diplomacy – the first time in modern history that Arab unity is a good thing for Israel.Mike Holtzman served as an adviser in two presidential administrations and was director of public affairs at The Council on Foreign Relations. Eli Epstein a businessman and prominent interfaith activist who serves as a member of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council.
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