President Herzog hails ‘evolving’ space partnership with UAE

Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday, hailing the “evolving” space partnership between Israel and the UAE. 

Herzog, who delivered a keynote speech at the Abu Dhabi Space Debate, said he was “especially proud of our evolving space partnership with the UAE. Our two countries are boldly leading our region toward new frontiers in space and leaving our mark in history.”

The president also mentioned the Venus satellite, an Israeli-French project, providing data for joint Israeli-Emirate research by closely monitoring vegetation in forests, croplands and nature reserves.

This will “help us better understand our global environment and collaborate on new solutions to protect our planet’s green lungs,” Herzog said.

“We stand here on the brink of a revolutionary new era of space exploitation,” the president added, praising the “breathtaking” images of the universe from the James Webb Telescope.

Herzog ended his speech by thanking UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed and Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed, reciting a poem by one of the most celebrated Arab poets, Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī: “If you ventured in pursuit of glory, don’t be satisfied with less than stars.”

Meeting Bahrain’s Jews

Herzog made a historic trip to Bahrain prior to his visit to UAE, becoming the first Israeli President to visit the Gulf Kingdom.

His meeting with representatives of the Jewish community in Bahrain included Ebrahim Nonoo, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the local synagogue, and Nancy Khedouri, a member of the Bahraini Shura Council and Bahrain’s representative to the World Jewish Congress.

Herzog received three gifts from the Jewish community: a Farhi prayerbook with an Arabic translation, a book detailing the history of the Bahraini Jewish community, and a copy of the permit to establish the local synagogue in 1931.

“I am very moved to be here. This is really history in the making, coming and visiting the Jewish community in Bahrain, when we have such incredible peace and wonderful relations with His Majesty the King,” Herzog said.

The Jewish community in Manama is based on immigration primarily from Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait from the 1880s and only accounts for a few dozen today. Today, the community consists mostly of elderly, while most young people have left Bahrain.

“We all spent time together at lunch and you can see the great affection and respect between the leadership and our nations… One thing that transpired in our discussion was the immense respect of the King and his family for the Jewish community of Bahrain,” Herzog concluded.

The president also participated in the economic forum held at the Bahrain Economic Development Board.

“In this meeting we will speak about how to raise and move forward and upgrade remarkably the economic relations between our nations. As you said correctly, the Abraham Accords unleashed energy that existed underneath but had to be realised between the nations, and we truly feel in the family. We truly feel that we are meeting our cousins, our brothers and sisters,” Herzog said at the forum.