Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog on Thursday afternoon hosted an official luncheon at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, in honor of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The Sheikh arrived at the head of a high-ranking delegation including Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation; Noura bint Mohamed Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth; and Mohamed Al Khaja, UAE Ambassador to Israel.
Upon his arrival, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed was personally received by the President and the First Lady. He then signed the guestbook and met with President Herzog in his bureau, where he presented him a letter from the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
At the start of the meeting, President Herzog said: “The world looks at the Abraham Accords with awe and respect and says there’s a new Middle East in many ways, being created and moving forward.”
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, added: “This is historic, but I think in many ways this is a relationship which very few thought that in two years it would be as successful.”
President Herzog and the First Lady then hosted an official luncheon in the Sheikh’s honor in the Great Hall of the President’s Residence.
President Herzog said at the start of the luncheon: “We are so honored and moved by your visit here at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, in Israel. In fact, this is your first visit to Jerusalem and we are so happy that you are with us in the President’s Residence. Michal and I are extremely happy to host you here to celebrate two years since the groundbreaking Abraham Accords, to which you were a signatory, at the White House exactly two years ago with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with the Foreign Minister of Bahrain together with President Trump.”
“We welcome you here with open arms and open hearts. We welcome you to our home as dreamers watch a dream come true. Kindly extend our warmest wishes and salutations to your great leader, your president and brother, and our brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the leader of your country. This is a joyous celebration for all of us because it marks a paradigm change in the Middle East, of sounding new voices, of painting new horizons for our children and their future and a celebration of life and change. Ten or twenty years ago, as the Middle Eastern trajectory was fraught with conflict, no one could have imagined such a vision of peaceful cooperation, and much less foreseen the festivities including the one in this room.
“It is therefore fitting that our treaty of friendship is named after our common ancestral father, Abraham. The Jewish interpretation of the biblical text, the Midrash, teaches us that when Abraham was a child, he smashed the false idols in his father’s home. Like Abraham we too are smashing false idols, meaning smashing false conventions, taking a sledgehammer to outdated beliefs holding us back. Our bold friendship shows our world like Abraham did that a better, different, more humane world is possible.”
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said: “Mr. President and Madam First Lady, this is a privilege and an honor. First of all to be in Israel, to be with a great leader who not only has inspired our relationship but who has been throughout his history, his family’s history, a solid supporter of peace, of working together.”
“I am sure that with visionary leaders like you, Mr. President, we will achieve a lot together.”