When Norwegian Parliamentarian Christian Tybring-Gjedde nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize (again) earlier this week, leftists scoffed. Yet Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have racked up a string of impressive diplomatic achievements. The dam has burst, and Muslim countries are normalizing ties with Israel, setting up embassies in Jerusalem, and ordering hotels to serve Kosher meals. On Friday, Trump announced yet another breakthrough: the Arab kingdom of Bahrain will normalize relations with Israel.
“President Donald J. Trump, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel spoke today and agreed to the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain,” Trump, al-Khalifa, and Netanyahu said in a joint statement.
“This is a historic breakthrough to further peace in the Middle East,” the statement continues. “Opening direct dialogue and ties between these two dynamic societies and advanced economies will continue the transformation of the Middle East and increase stability, security, and prosperity in the region.”
The announcement followed Bahrain’s decision to host a Peace to Prosperity workshop on June 25, 2019. The workshop aimed to “achieve a just, comprehensive, and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to enable the Palestinian people to realize their full potential.”
“Israel affirmed that as set forth in the Vision for Peace, all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s other holy sites will remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths.”
Representatives of Bahrain will join Israel and the United Arab Emirates on September 15 for a historic signing ceremony at the White House.
Joint Statement of the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the State of Israel pic.twitter.com/xMquRkGtpM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2020
The Bahrain deal follows a string of recent diplomatic victories. Last month, Trump brokered a deal in which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially recognized Israel. Last week, he announced that two European countries, Muslim-majority Kosovo and Christian-majority Serbia, had reached a peace deal between themselves and with Israel and would set up embassies in Jerusalem.
Also this week, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia announced they would open their skies to Israeli flights to the UAE. As part of its rapprochment with Israel, the UAE agreed to order hotels to serve Kosher foods in Abu Dhabi, delivering a powerful symbol of Jewish acceptance in a notoriously anti-Semitic part of the world.
The Palestinians tried to force the Arab League to condemn the UAE-Israel deal, to no avail.
It is no small feat to convince Arab Muslim nations to normalize ties with Israel, let alone get them to mandate kosher foods in an Arab capital. Yet Trump’s accomplishments also include convincing Muslim-majority Kosovo to open an embassy in Jerusalem, recognizing Israel’s historic capital as the capital of a modern Jewish state.
President Barack Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen diplomacy and cooperation between people.” President Donald Trump should receive a Nobel Peace Prize for his extraordinary results at establishing historic diplomacy in the Middle East. Even so, it seems Tybring-Gjedde’s nomination is likely to go nowhere. The Nobel committee is likely to get too stuck on “Orange Man Bad” to reward the orange man’s historic results in the same way it honored Obama’s efforts.
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Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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