A FLIGHT FROM TEL AVIV

An earth-shaking event took place on 31 August 2020, which I never thought would be possible in my life time. An Israeli Airlines flight from Tel Aviv landed at Abu Dhabi airport with the Israeli prime minister and US president’s son-in-law on board. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a staunch adversary of the Jewish state, accorded permission to the crew to overfly its territory.

The scenario was totally different when I came to Kuwait in 1981 to pursue a fresh career. I was gifted a welcome package by my company which, among other goodies, contained a diary. On the inner back cover, there was a prominent map of the middle eastern nations with names of the countries clearly inscribed. However, there was a strip of land adjoining Jordan and Syria, which was unmarked. That was the state of Israel whose existence was not acknowledged by the Arab neighbours. Some other maps identified the area as OAT, meaning Occupied Arab Territory.

Any interaction with Israel was totally prohibited in the Arab countries. An individual with an Israeli entry stamp on his passport would be denied entry in to any of the Gulf Arab states.

In 1984, I went to London on a week-long business trip. The working hours were pretty gruelling. I had some plans for a bit of shopping for my family particularly my two little kids. One of the most popular departmental stores among tourists was the iconic Marks & Spencer on Oxford Street. It was a place which had the reputation to offer good value for money. However, there was a catch. I was warned by a few frequent travellers among my friends and colleagues that one had to be very careful about merchandise from Marks & Spencer, which supposedly had a Jewish connection. If detected by Customs, there was a good possibility of the items getting confiscated. I was advised to chop of the labels. Under the pressure of my professional commitments, I forgot the wise advice and landed back in Kuwait with the labels intact. The Customs ignored my smallish inconspicuous baggage.

Kuwait imported cars from all the major automobile manufacturing nations. The highways were dominated by all makes of American and Japanese cars. Any car with components manufactured in Israel, was banned.

The skirmishes between Arabs and Israelis were frequent and often violent. Palestinian Arabs confined in Israel, which was originally their land, suffered a lot. Among the neighbouring countries, Egypt bore the brunt.  The oil rich gulf countries stayed away from direct conflict and compensated their physical inaction by offering handsome financial packages to Egypt and Syria.

In late 70’s, the president Anwar Sadat of Egypt decided enough was enough. He extended a friendly hand to Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel. Begin responded warmly. US president Jimmy Carter played an active role in bringing the two governments to the negotiating table and a historic peace treaty was signed by Sadat and Begin. The world applauded and both the leaders were rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize.

Well, not the entire world though. Arabs were shocked and accused Sadat of betrayal. The most agonised were the Palestinians who felt totally let down. Their leader Yasser Arafat rejected the treaty outright. Egypt’s neighbour Syria snapped all diplomatic relations with Egypt. The outrage was so fierce, Anwar Sadat eventually fell to assassin’s bullet. His death was gleefully celebrated almost everywhere in the region.

Politics is a funny game beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals like me. In course of time even Yasser Arafat signed an agreement with Yitszhak Rabin, which assured Palestinian self-rule in the Ghaza strip, which was inhabited by the displaced Palestinians. In return Arafat recognised Israel’s right to exist. The agreement earned the signatories another Nobel Peace Prize.

The peace did not last long due mainly to the lack of mutual trust. Situation worsened after Arafat’s death in 2004. Palestinians attributed his death to poisoning by Israeli authorities. The matter reached stagnation and no immediate resolution was visible.

In this context, the sudden resumption of diplomatic activities reflected by a flight from Israel to UAE caught the world by surprise. The Palestinians were of course upset once again. It is apparent that the Arab world is finally tired of the conflict and decided to initiate a new phase. Realization has finally set in that Israel was here to stay and with full support of the mightiest nation of the world. The current pandemic jolted the oil rich emirates out of their comfort zones. It would be prudent to diversify their economy, where Israel could be a productive partner. UAE citizens have not yet shown any resentment at the decision of their government. According to news reports, cargo flights would commence soon implying launching of trades between the two countries.

Let us be patient and wait for the next step. Probably, members of my generation will live to see regular flights between Tel Aviv and Jeddah.

What about the future status of Jerusalem and the Palestinians? I have no answer.

Let us wait and see.

Kolkata 6 Septmber 2020