In a well-timed diplomatic announcement, the occupant nearly broke his arm patting himself on the back. Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have entered into full diplomatic relations. It is hailed as an historic “peace” agreement, except none of the parties are in conflict with one another which is a pre-requisite for a “peace” deal. It is a business deal and a strategic arms initiative. Coming just weeks before the election, this accord is a strategic political move.
By announcing this “historic peace agreement”, dubbed the Abraham Accord, the occupant is hoping to boost his failing numbers among the fundamentalist white evangelical voting bloc. The connection between Israel and fundamentalist white evangelicals is rooted in a weird biblical perspective. In the first testament, the Israelites were given the “Promised Land.” Fundamentalist white evangelicals claim to take the bible literally, hence they support Israel’s claim to all the land known as the Promised Land. This includes the West Bank that is currently occupied by Israel over and against the Palestinians.
The fate of the West Bank lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Abraham Accord puts off Israel’s dealings with Palestine. This means the annexation of the West Bank remains an option in the accord. Much of the global community is in agreement that lasting peace in the region is contingent on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This means a two state solution.
The Abraham Accord is not so much a peace deal as it is a business deal and an arms deal. The accord was made public by announcing the first direct flight between the UAE and Israel. That is strictly about economics. The UAE hopes to access technical knowledge from Israel. In return, Israel hopes some of the riches of the UAE may come its way. In light of this, the claim that the accord is about peace holds little water.
The accord is also a strategic geopolitical move as it allows the UAE to buy F35 fighter planes and other high tech military equipment from the United States. The UAE is in a much better geographic position to deal with the instability of Iran than Israel. The strategic military angle dealing with Iranian instability cannot be overlooked. Iran condemned the accord in harsh statements as soon as it was announced. Turkey vowed to cut off diplomatic relations with Israel. While this accord claims to be about peace, there is a likelihood that it will result in long term geopolitical instability.
What is stunning in all of this political wrangling is the absence of the Palestinians. In addition to furthering the divisions regarding who owns the West Bank, there is also a shift in political alliances that is troubling. For many years there has been an unspoken alliance between Palestine and the Arab countries. The essence of the alliance is that Arab countries will not enter into diplomatic relations with Israel until they account for their crimes against the Palestinians and until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is solved. The Arab countries have been mostly silent about the announcement of the Abraham Accord.
The reason any of this matters to us is simple. For years the United States has had a symbiotic relationship with Israel. One can say nothing negative about Israel without sounding un-American. Yet there needs to be a voice that supports the Palestinians and ends their suffering at the hands of the Israelis.
Relying on the promise of scripture that the Promised Land belongs to Israel is a cherry picking festival of biblical interpretation. Though the Promised Land is a central theme of the first testament, there is much more to Israel’s relationship with Yahweh. The central message of the first testament (and the second testament as well) is God’s everlasting love affair with all of creation and all of the world’s people. As the chosen ones Israel has special responsibilities in living into this eternal love affair. When Israel lives in sync with the love of God the conflict will solve itself. When people come before land the solution comes into clear focus.
The central prayer of the Jewish liturgy comes from Deuteronomy 6:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead, inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Love and not land is the overarching message of scripture. Trotting out an economic and military deal and calling it a peace accord is a sham. For the occupant it is part of making America great, but there is not greatness to be found in alliances that cause others pain. For the UAE, Israel and Bahrain there may be increased military security, but it brokers no true peace. Driving a wedge into the Arab countries holds no long term advantage. Icing out the Palestinians in talks about the future postpones the ultimate conflict that needs to be resolved. Peace in the Middle East is about peace between Israel and Palestine.
The Irreverent Reverend 