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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has made history meeting with the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in the first-ever one-on-one meeting between leaders of the two countries.
Prime Minister of Israel, @naftalibennett, greeted in Abu Dhabi, by His Highness @MohamedBinZayed of UAE!
[Video: Omer Meron, GPO] pic.twitter.com/Y6TkQYCQJF
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) December 13, 2021
Bennett used the talks to stress the importance of deepening ties between Israel and the UAE, while praising the areas in which cooperation is already strong, including trade, research and development, cybersecurity, health, education and aviation.
“The message that I wish to deliver to the UAE leaders and Emirati citizens is that mutual partnership and friendship are natural,” Bennett said ahead of the meeting, adding: “We are neighbors and cousins. We are the grandchildren of Prophet Abraham.”
“The volume of mutual trade between us has expedited within a few months with limitless future opportunities to develop it,” the premier continued, adding: “Our cooperation provides unprecedented economic opportunities not only for us, but for more countries, which is another element for enhancing stability and prosperity in this region.”
Israel and the UAE established diplomatic ties under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which also saw the Jewish state normalize relations with Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
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Iran is said to be preparing to fire a ballistic missile into space as the revived nuclear deal talks in Vienna verge on collapse.
According to reports, the Islamic Republic is planning the launch from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport. State-run media also revealed that there is a list of upcoming planned satellite launches.
Tehran has accused European nations of failing to offer any constructive proposals that could help salvage the 2015 JCPOA agreement — more commonly known as the Iran Deal — which Israel has criticized. Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s lead negotiator, claimed: “European parties fail to come up with any initiatives to resolve differences over the removal of sanctions.”
Yet, European negotiators have warned Iran that it must come to the table with “realistic proposals.” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said it was now the last opportunity for Tehran to agree to curb its nuclear ambitions: “This is their last chance and it is vital that they do so. We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”
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Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu praised Israel’s beauty and welcoming culture after being crowned Miss Universe 2021 in a glitzy ceremony held in the southern resort city of Eilat.
In the finals, Sandhu beat out Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane, who was the target of a BDS campaign in her home country to force her to withdraw from the competition.
Israeli artist Noa Kirel took center stage at the show, performing her English-language song “Bad Little Thing” while American pop singer JoJo also entertained the crowd, which was relatively small owing to Israel’s COVID-19 restrictions on tourists entering the country.
Speaking about her experience visiting the Jewish state, Sandhu said afterwards: “There are a lot [of memories] and that was one of my favorites. Israel is a beautiful country and the people are so warm and that’s what I love about Israel.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s Tourism Ministry said the contest provided a great opportunity to boost the Jewish state’s image around the world. The pageant was broadcast to hundreds of millions of views in 172 countries.
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Archeologists have unearthed a synagogue dating back to the Second Temple era in the northern Jewish town of Migdal, located in the Galilee region.
The 2,000-year-old structure was dug up by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Besides the IAA, the excavation was organized along with the Y.G. Contractual company and the University of Haifa.
The synagogue, which is the second to be discovered after a larger and more decorative one was excavated in 2009, consists of a main room and two smaller rooms. Also found was a stone shelf, which is believed to have been used to store Torah scrolls.
Dina Avshalom-Gorni, one of the directors responsible for the excavation, said: “The discovery of a second synagogue in this Galilean settlement casts light on the social and religious lives of the Jews in the area in this period, and reflects a need for a dedicated building for Torah reading and study and for social gatherings.”
Recommended Reading
- Double-edged Antisemitism (Fiamma Nirenstein, Jewish News Syndicate)
- About Those Supposed Anti-Arab Slurs (Andrea Zanardo, Times of Israel)
- Gaza Border ‘Iron Wall’ Is About Saving Lives, Not ‘Apartheid’ (Jonathan S. Tobin, Algemeiner)
- Israeli Company Says Novel AI Device Could Help Prevent Adult Blindness (Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman, Jerusalem Post)
