Abu Dhabi’s New Synagogue Signals a Changing Region
By Omer Hortig
On March 1, the Persian Gulf’s first purpose-built synagogue opened to the public as part of the United Arab Emirates’ new highly publicized multi-faith complex. Abu Dhabi’s “Abrahamic Family House” includes houses of worship from each of the monotheistic Abrahamic faiths: the Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, His Holiness Francis Church, as well as the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue. The first Jewish wedding at the complex has already been held, involving former assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump Avi Berkowitz, an architect of the breakthrough Abraham Accords. In a region long mired in interfaith conflict, the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue will serve the fast-growing Jewish presence in a country remade by peace deals.
The normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and two Muslim-majority countries, Bahrain and the UAE, was signed in September 2020, with Morocco and Sudan following shortly after. These deals, known both formally and informally as the Abraham Accords, were negotiated by the United States and were the first peace deals between a Muslim country and Israel since Jordan in 1994. In the years since the signing of the Accords, further political progress has been made, most prominently with the decision of regional power and traditional enemy Saudi Arabia allowing Israeli planes into their airspace. Member countries of the Accords have sent high level ministers to the newly formed Negev Forum, a meeting for regional cooperation and economic development. The relationship between the UAE and Israel has particularly been strengthened. Last May, Israel and the UAE signed the largest ever trade deal between Israel and an Arab country, setting lofty targets of non-oil bilateral trade between the countries of more than $10 billion over the next five years.
The economic ties between Israel and the UAE have catapulted from nearly zero before the normalization to $885 million dollars in 2021 — twice the volume of trade between Israel and Egypt, which has had normalized relations with Israel since 1979. The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Israel and the UAE eliminates tariffs on 99% of trade between the countries, a feat Emirati Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi calls “a new chapter in the history of the Middle East.” Subsequently, trade between the Emirates and Israel doubled in the first 11 months of 2022. The rapid expansion of trade ties between the two countries can be attributed to their similar economies, with both countries having GDPs of around $400 billion. Amir Hayek, Israeli Ambassador to the UAE, has predicted that the UAE will be among Israel’s top ten trading partners in the next three years, and that “the UAE will be a growth engine for the Israeli economy, the Israeli industries and for the relations between both countries.” Israeli companies have flocked to the financial hubs of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with companies such as OurCrowd and Liquidity Group opening divisions in the country. The Emirati foreign investment office, ADIO, followed suit with an office in Tel Aviv in April 2022.
The effects of the Abraham Accords go further than simply economic benefits. As the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue brings Judaism to the Gulf Region, an estimated 500,000 Israelis have visited the Emirates since 2020 — out of a total population of only nine million. In Emirati primary and secondary schools, students have started learning about Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust, which were previously absent from the curriculum. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has commended that more than just doing business with each other, “Israelis and Emiratis are studying together and learning each other’s cultures and languages.” Once distant enemies, the Abraham Accords have advanced the prospect for enduring peace by allowing two estranged peoples to interact.
Yet, the Accords are not perfect. While economic activity between Israel and the UAE has flourished, the other signatories have yet to see meaningful benefits. Bahrain, in particular, has lamented the lack of Israeli investment and tourism to the country as it attempts to compete with its richer neighbors Qatar and the UAE. Additionally, it has yet to sign a free trade agreement with Israel like the CEPA. In December of last year, President Herzog visited the kingdom to assuage fears over the lack of economic development, bringing with him representatives from Israel’s Innovation Authority and Start-Up Nation Central to jumpstart talks. The President’s visit resulted in Bahrain agreeing to allow five weekly direct flights between the kingdom and Israel, yet further free trade agreements have yet to follow.
Herzog’s push for increased cooperation comes as the Abraham Accords have steeply lost popularity in Arab countries and a new far-right government has come to power in Israel, threatening the expansion and even existence of the Accords. As the peace deal comes into its third year, Arab countries are scrutinizing the lack of progress on Palestinian matters that were promised as part of the normalization deals. With recent flare-ups in violence leading to numerous Israeli and Palestinian deaths, belligerent language on the part of the new coalition in regard to settlement expansion, and the visit of Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Temple Mount which Abu Dhabi labeled the “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard,” old tensions have been rising to the surface. Today, only 25% of Emiratis support the Abraham Accords, down from 47% when they were signed. In Bahrain, that number is 20%. The cooling of support for the measure has tempered expectations for its expansion to other countries, especially Saudi Arabia, the “crown jewel” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s normalization efforts.
As the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue opens in Abu Dhabi, it is important to reflect on the progress of the last several years. The signing of the Abraham Accords has reignited stagnant Middle East peace initiatives, yet the lingering distrust and deep disagreements over the future of the Palestinian people remain. The case of the United Arab Emirates has shown that with free trade and economic investment, two countries long at odds can achieve greater cultural understanding. With the Netanyahu government angling for the expansion of the Accords, it is important to recognize the effective power of economic diplomacy in advancing peace.
