Coalition MK Zvi Hauser (Derech Eretz) hosted a special online Sukkot event Tuesday with Bahraini MP Nancy Khedouri, the first joint event between an Israeli and a Bahraini lawmaker.
Khedouri, 45, a member of Bahrain’s small Jewish community, spoke with Hauser via Zoom about the recently signed Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between her country and Israel, as well as the history of the Jewish community of Bahrain.
“I feel like the Messiah is coming that we can talk like this,” Hauser said during the virtual meeting, referring to the Abraham Accords, which established peace between Israel and Bahrain, as well as with the United Arab Emirates. “These are historic times for nation.”
Hauser said the peace deals with Bahrain and the UAE were “like a dream”, and said Israelis had high hopes for their country’s relationship with the two Gulf Arab states.
Turning to her own community, established in the 19th century by Jewish migrants from Iraq, Khedouri said that the Jews of Bahrain had been treated well, and were never singled out.
“Overall, Jewish people were never made to feel different. There was never any segregation,” said Khedouri. “Jewish people were never expelled from Bahrain.”