Have you given any thought yet to your Pesach plans for the upcoming year? With the ongoing pandemic, social upheaval and surge in violent anti-Semitism, perhaps your focus has been elsewhere.
With a new year around the corner, it might be a good time to plan ahead. Due to exciting recent developments, pandemic permitting, you might be able to spend Pesach not only away from the home you were quarantined in last year, but in a place where the inhabitants speak a Semitic language and consider themselves to be descendants of the Patriarch, Avraham Avinu.
At this point you’re possibly thinking that you’ve already been to Israel for Pesach or that you’d like to try something a bit more adventurous after last year’s toned-down celebration.
How about something entirely different? A diplomatic breakthrough has made possible the prospect of holding your seder amidst luxury accommodations rivaling anything found in Europe, Cancun, or the Bahamas.
Did I mention that the inhabitants of this alternative Pesach destination are people who suddenly abandoned hostility to the Jewish State in return for official relations, cultural exchanges, and the possibility of increased economic activity?
They have undoubtedly done so in the same way that the lovers of Israel in Egypt did in 1978, along with the Palestinians in 1993 and the Jordanians in 1994.
Why is this Pesach getaway different from all others? This one will not only give you a world class vacation experience but will allow you to help foster world peace.
Not impressed yet? What if I told you that the country I allude to is none other than the United Arab Emirates, with whom Israel recently agreed to normalize relations?
Application of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria was stopped (UAE leader bin Zayed), suspended and taken off the table (Ambassador Friedman), more than just taken off the table (Trump), suspended but still on the table (Netanyahu), or taken off the table and stashed in the fridge behind the leftovers.
Is it slightly premature to plan for Pesach in Dubai? Not if you listen to what’s being said about the agreement.
Depending on who you ask, this is the same agreement pursuant to which the highly publicized application of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria was stopped (UAE leader bin Zayed), suspended and taken off the table (Ambassador Friedman), more than just taken off the table (Trump), suspended but still on the table (Netanyahu), or taken off the table and stashed in the fridge behind the leftovers.
Table talk aside, the actual text of the joint statement published by the White House states in relevant part: “Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.”
The logical question is why are there multiple descriptions of the current status of the application of Israeli sovereignty, which had been a major election theme for Netanyahu?
Here is a good rule of thumb: where Israeli concessions are concerned, the Arab version usually comes closest to the truth. The UAE’s de-facto ruler bluntly stated that the purpose of the agreement was to halt Israeli “annexation” of territory.
The reality is that this frank justification by the UAE little resembles the verbiage about a watershed moment for regional peace touted in Washington and Jerusalem.
And yet even the hype-filled exclamations of Trump, Netanyahu and their respective teams contain much that is problematic for anyone concerned with the rights and security of Israelis.
Among many such troubling statements, one by Jared Kushner stands out. At a media briefing to explain the deal, he was quoted as saying, “Israelis are excited they can get cheaper flights through Dubai, and Muslims are excited they can fly through Dubai to Tel Aviv to go to al-Aqsa.” I’ll refrain from unpacking the atrociousness of this line since it basically speaks for itself.
Whoever you believe and whatever you choose to overlook about this deal, one thing is clear – Netanyahu will not be applying sovereignty over Judea and Samaria any time soon.
Many on the right applaud the agreement because they believe it isolates the Palestinians, Iran, et al. Time will tell whether this is a real-world outcome of lasting effect or wishful thinking. Besides, it didn’t take a formal agreement for Israel and the UAE to realize that they both have a problem with Iran. It is unclear what, if anything, this agreement adds to that understanding.
A number of thoughtful people are grateful that Netanyahu did not apply sovereignty over a fraction of the area and thus lay the groundwork for a Palestinian state on Jewish land. While that may eventually turn out to be the most beneficial aspect of the turn of events, the manner in which things played out has potentially done a great deal to undermine the cause of Jewish sovereignty, and not only in Judea and Samaria.
Netanyahu could have demonstrated a core principle of Zionism by taking Jewish destiny into Jewish hands despite the objections of other nations, even powerful ones. The problem is that the entire decision was in effect outsourced to Washington and subjected to Arab veto.
Whatever happens in November, Biden’s team has taken notes. Should he win, he’ll likely demand further concessions. In his trademark style, one can imagine Biden saying something like, “come on man, what’s a little territory between friends - I’m offering you normalization with the entire Arab world!”
Who knows, given Kushner’s comment, Biden might even be tempted to offer Israelis frequent flyer miles in exchange for swathes of their homeland.
Despite chatter about more such agreements in the offing, the expectation that Arab states would fall all over themselves in the rush to normalization suffered a major setback when the Saudis and Moroccans emphatically said no thanks.
To make matters worse, a planned ceremony between the US, Israel and the UAE was cancelled (or suspended?) when the latter expressed outrage that Israel was opposed to an apparent side deal it struck with the Trump administration for the sale of advanced fighter jets.
On second thought, you might not want to book your flight to Dubai for Pesach just yet. You might even want to take the idea off the table.
Eric Ruskin is an attorney and a member of the Board of Directors of the Israel Independence Fund.