Martin Oliner, co-President of Religious Zionists of America (RZA) and Chairman of the Center for Righteousness and Integrity, and Reva Oliner, President of the Center for Righteousness and Integrity, speak to Israel National News after spending several weeks visiting Arab states, including Oman, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

In Oman, the Oliners met with ministers, including the deputy foreign minister, in meetings arranged by B’nai B’rith. They were part of a small delegation of less than 10 people.

They spoke to the deputy minister about air rights for Israel. “He said they were considering it and lo and behold, a few days later Israel was granted the air rights,” Reva says.

“We were able to get a good feel for them,” Martin says. “We had our wish list. I think they knew what our wish list was and we were glad to see that all this could happen so quickly after our visit.”

He adds that a few years after the signing of the Abraham Accords, their impact can be felt economically.

“Israel has benefited to the billions and they in turn likewise have seen 400,000 Israelis come to Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” he says. “But in a certain sense, the feeling that we got in the area and the question is: Would the Abraham Accords be doable today? Could they be accomplished? And I would think that it would be very difficult.”

He adds that he does not believe Oman opening its airspace to Israel will lead to further success with the Abraham Accords.

“I think that the neighborhood that would normally come aboard will not come abort in today's environment,” he says. “I think it's fair to say that both Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Dubai are very disappointed in the results of the Accords. I don't think they've gotten any of the benefits they were supposed to.”

According to him, as economic success stories, the Gulf states today are mainly concerned with security and maintaining what what they have achieved. He notes that part of the Abraham Accords was a promise of delivery of F-35s, along with increased protection from their ally, the United States, which did not pan out the way they had hoped.

“I think they believe that the United States is an important partner…but I think what they've decided and what the feelings that we get is that they're disappointed with the United States who has been their main ally for all these years,” Martin says. “Now why do they need a main ally? So that they continue in safety and security.”

He explains that while they were in Dubai they had an “extraordinary” meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

“I was privileged to host a program on the Culture of Peace. The Culture of Peace is designed to bring together what the Emiratis and what the Accords are all about: bringing about peace. What we're trying to do is get different organizations together. We were successful in bringing together Trends, which is leading UAE Think Tank, the Sheik of Peace from Iran, who was very well known, people from Italy, people from the United Nations, people from Azerbaijan, from all over the world, to come together for a program that will ensure that we actually create a curriculum [including textbooks] for the culture of peace. That's the biggest problem we have today.”

Speaking of the messages coming from the Biden administration regarding the internal policies in Israel, he comments that he believes they are taking their cue from left wing American Jewish groups.

“I don't think the problem is the United States government,” he says. “I think the problem is that there are those who focus on Israel differently and who believe that they should have the last say, not even that they should come here and vote like the democracy that Israel is. But I think many feel that they're above Israel, because of contributions they've made over the years, or for whatever reasons.”

He continues: “Regrettably, the [American] Jewish Community today is untutored, uneducated, growing more and more with assimilation. So it's not like there's a traditional group that once represented a large percentage of Jews that's out there that's vibrant. That group has shrunk and continues to shrink. The largest group of Jews today are those that are totally unaffiliated and that's where the problem is.”

According to him, the problem is that American Jews see the protests going on in Israel surrounding judicial reform and they are concerned but they don’t actually know what judicial reform is about.

Speaking about the possibility of a rift between the diaspora and Israel, he notes there are different issues and problems faced by Jews inside and outside of Israel.

He mentions antisemitism as the greatest problem facing American Jews today but it’s not really a problem in Israel, and also the US trend of increasingly high intermarriage rates.

He has also been expending an enormous effort on Jewish education. He mentions that haredi schools in Israel needs to begin teaching English and STEM (science technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects at a young age.

But he also stresses that a major issue facing Israel currently is a “problem that no one wants to speak about.”

“The community that’s [non-observant] and totally uneducated [on Judaism] and has no idea about their background, that community consists of about over a million people today, and why should they be here [in Israel], why should they not [emigrate]? The solution is only in education. Again, not forcing religion. But remember, Jewish history is part of the [Bible]. The Bible is the Jewish history and that culture needs to be imbued in everyone.”