President of Israel Reuven Rivlin spoke on the telephone the King of Bahrain, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The president congratulated the king on Bahrain’s national day, which will be celebrated the day after tomorrow, saying, “this national day marks a year of historic developments between Israel and Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, The developments in our relations could not have happened without the brave and historic decision of His Majesty King Hamed to establish a warm peace with Israel.”
“Peace with Bahrain is already a model for other countries in our region,” the president added. “We have chosen to invest from the very beginning in cooperation in the fields of economy, innovation and health. We are full of hope that the Palestinians will also take steps to build mutual trust, cooperation and peace.”
On December 14, 2020, the president of Israel welcomed a delegation of opinion-leaders from Bahrain and the UAE to Beit HaNasi (official residence of the president of Israel). “Ahlan wa-sahlan, bruchim ha-ba’im,” said the president to the delegation in Arabic and Hebrew. He heard about their moving first visit to Israel, and said “Peace is made between peoples and nations. Your visit here is another step in the path of building warm relations between our countries. I wish you a successful visit and I am glad to meet you here in Jerusalem.”
Dr. Majid a-Sarah from the University of Dubai, one of the leaders of the delegation, said, “To visit Israel for the first time as part of a delegation is an historic moment. Israel is a prime example of tolerance in the region. This is a new era of peace and stability between peoples.” Mashaal a-Shamri from Bahrain said, “As a Bahraini woman visiting Israel, it is a great honor for me to meet the president. We see Israel as a place of peace, success and co-existence.”
The delegation, led by Ami Dari of the Sharka Project, are social activists and opinion leaders from Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, who have created the project, which means cooperation in Arabic, that brings together citizens of the countries. Sharka aims to lead social initiatives that bring Israel’s voice to strengthen familiarity with the State of Israel in the Arab world, and so create cooperation between young people in Israel and Arab states. Members of the delegation include Amjad Taha from Bahrain, Fatma al-Harbi and other academic and business people.