Published: 30 September 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Bahrain’s lost Jews look forward to returning after peace with Israel (Jerusalem Post)
Bahrain’s dwindling community of less than 50 Jews has been offered a new lease on life in the wake of the signing of this month’s historic Abraham Accords, with many in Israel anxious to reconnect to their homeland.
Most forfeited their passports when making aliyah, so exact, current numbers are unclear. The Jewish Agency has only two formal registrations but numbers are certainly far higher than that. Munir Akirav, 35, is one of a small number of Jews of Bahraini origin living in Israel, born in Givatayim. His mother and her family left Bahrain in 1970.
“My personal connection to Bahrain is based on stories, pictures, videos, from my mother’s family,” he says. “The connection is one of nostalgia and longing for a time of which you were never apart. So, for me it’s a very, very strong feeling,” explains the accountant and credit analyst. When he heard the news of the Abraham Accords, overcoming decades of political annexation of Israel, he said he “jumped for joy.”
That feeling of nostalgia has manifested in many ways over the years, including feeling sadness that his friends could return to the lands of their ancestors, reconnect and learn more about their origins, as like Poland and Germany, but he could not. Before the accord, his return “home” was never an option, but now, that has all changed.
Saudi Arabia’s fragile support to Palestine (Al-Monitor)
Saudi Arabia’s traditional pro-Palestinian positions are unlikely to be compromised even if some gestures are made to the Israelis and to the Trump administration.
The Saudis’ heads are in the clouds of peace, their feet in the Yemeni mud (Haaretz)
The crown prince is interested in a normalisation with Israel and his father likes the Arab Peace Initiative, but the war in Yemen and threats to Prince Mohammed at home are keeping them busy
Photo: Roza Katzav and her daughters (courtesy)
