ABU DHABI – Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s visit to the United Arab Emirates this week was heavy on pomp and circumstance and symbolism. But it comes at a key time for the relationship between the countries.
This was the first visit of an Israeli minister since the countries established diplomatic ties last year. Emirati ministers met Lapid at every step of the way, from the red carpet at the airport, to the dedication of the Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi and to the Emirati Foreign Ministry. They will be at the Israeli Consulate in Dubai and Israel’s pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai on Wednesday.
At the embassy in Abu Dhabi, Lapid and Emirati Culture and Youth Minister Noura Al Kaabi cut a ribbon that was, essentially, suspended between two short posts instead of actually marking the new entrance to anything; the embassy has actually been on the 20th floor of the Etihad Towers for months, and Ambassador Eitan Na’eh has been in the UAE since January. Lapid and Al Kaabi chuckled as they cut the ribbon.
Lapid, the former television personality with his well-tailored suits, gelled hair and megawatt smile, definitely came into the Foreign Ministry camera-ready for cutting ribbons.
But this trip is much more than a photo-op.
In diplomacy, gestures and symbolism have meaning, and that is at the fore of Lapid’s UAE visit.
As Lapid mentioned in his remarks at the embassy, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “the architect of the Abraham Accords, who worked tirelessly to bring them about.”
Netanyahu never got to have his celebratory first trip to the UAE and Bahrain, celebrating his hard work. His planned visits were postponed repeatedly because of COVID-19 restrictions and elections, and he blocked other ministers from traveling to the Gulf.
Now, tragically, Netanyahu has to watch from the opposition as Lapid reaps the honors.
As Israel began its transition from 12 years of Netanyahu’s leadership to a new government sworn in two weeks ago, Emiratis who were invested in ties with Israel in various ways had questions about what the change would mean for the nascent relationship.
After all, Israel and the UAE only established diplomatic relations in August as a result of the Abraham Accords, which were backed by former US president Donald Trump. The leadership in the UAE, which is not a democracy, remained stable. But there were major changes in the two other partners to the accords.
The UAE rolled out the red carpet, literally and figuratively, showing Lapid that the Abraham Accords are here to stay regardless of which government is in Jerusalem.
And Emirati officials made it clear that they wanted this trip to be about the future, the opportunities and the message of peace and stability that relations between Israel and the UAE broadcast. Iran and the Palestinians were not on the public agenda, so the focus would only be on bilateral ties.
Lapid sent a message of his own that he, too, plans to “work tirelessly” on this relationship by making the UAE trip a top priority and bringing the Israeli press on the plane with him – something the Foreign Ministry has not done in years – to document the historic visit.
“What we are doing here today is not the end of the road; it’s the beginning,” Lapid said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the message was clear.
Though the Emiratis would prefer that discussion of the trip focus on economic, tourism, research and other ties with Israel, this strong display of cooperation between the countries is also important at this time because of other recent events in the region.
There was last month’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, which strengthened opinion in parts of the Arab world against normalization with Israel. The UAE, Bahrain and others didn’t suddenly become great Zionists or even change their UN votes. But their statements on the fighting were relatively staid, and relations between the countries weathered the challenge.
Meanwhile, indirect talks between the US and Iran on a return to the 2015 nuclear deal continue. The UAE and Israel both view Iran as an adversary, and Netanyahu has said many times that his fiery 2015 speech before both houses of Congress against the Iran deal drew moderate Sunni states closer to Israel.
Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett continue to express their opposition to a return to the Iran deal, but they have taken a different approach from Netanyahu. In fact, their approach is, in some ways, more similar to that of Gulf states in 2015 and this year.
They want the concerns of many countries in the region to be taken into consideration. They want to have close, behind-the-scenes conversations with top US officials on their security needs, how to strengthen enforcement of limitations on Iran’s uranium enrichment and which sanctions should remain in place.
Face-to-face meetings, like the one between Lapid and Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, are key at this time to coordinate their position on this matter.
So behind the ribbon-cuttings, red carpets and the photogenic smiles is a trip that is not only truly historic, in that it is a first, but is also consequential in strengthening the relationship between Israel and the UAE and meeting their shared strategic goals.