iF October DIGITAL September-October 2020 | Page 35

Hon. Gilad Katz: Well, I will start
with a little history. Israel is a small
country surrounded by Arab countries.
In 1979, Egypt, just south of us,
was perhaps our biggest enemy. In a
series of wars, Israel lost thousands of
soldiers and Egypt lost thousands as
well. They became the first Arab nation
to formalize a peace agreement
with us. Jordan was the last Arab
country to sign a peace agreement
with us before the recent agreement
with the Emirates. Israel’s Prime
Minister met with King Hussein and
they signed a formal agreement in
1994. Those who do not understand,
say the Emirates are more than 2000
miles away from our border, and we
haven’t had a war. What is the difference
now? The peace agreement
with the Emirates will have a huge
impact on the entire Muslim Arab
world. This peace agreement with
the Emirates is going to be revolutionary.
There are two main differences
in this peace agreement. The
Emirates does not border Israel like
Jordan or Egypt. Also, Israel has not
fought a war with the Emirates. Up
to now Arab countries were concerned
about the Palestinians and did
not want to seem disloyal to other
Muslim countries. The Emirates have
decided enough is enough, we are
going to do what is in our best interests.
This can be a new day for Israel
and the rest of the Middle East. In
the past it has always been land for
peace. Lebanon is the only country
in the Middle East that is smaller
than us. The other Arab countries,
Iran, Iraq, Algeria, are far larger even
than Egypt. The concept of land for
peace does not work. A real peace is
one in which both parties feel as if
they have achieved their goal. If one
country feels that by giving up land,
they are endangering themselves, the
agreement is not going to work. In
Israel, but it’s not possible. We are human
beings, and we want to return to
normal life.
Heidi PP: The human spirit needs
personal contact. When we get back
to normal, we are going to want even
more.
Hon. Gilad Katz: You are right. I
like to meet face to face and talk. All
the electronic means of communication
like Zoom and Facetime are not
the same as in person conversations.
However, we have to adjust.
Heidi PP: Life continues. That is
part of the reason we have come here
today. We would like to hear your
thoughts about the recent agreement
between Israel and the UAE. I know
that it is a historic moment.
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