Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Chair Mark Levenson, Esq. released the following statement:

The Zionist Organization of America congratulates and strongly praises U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince/United Arab Emirates Deputy Supreme Commander Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed on their game-changing, long-awaited, historic agreement announced today, to fully normalize relations between Israel and the UAE, including establishing reciprocal embassies, and cooperating on security, health, the battle against COVID-19, and other vital and mutually beneficial matters. 

The Israel-UAE agreement will be an important bulwark against dangerously increasing Iranian aggression, as well as a source of benefits to the Israeli and Emirati people.

ZOA hopes and urges the UAE to establish its embassy in Israel’s eternal capital Jerusalem, just as UAE has their embassies in the Capital cities of other countries. ZOA also urges that the formal agreement between Israel and the UAE should include UAE recognition of Israel as the Jewish state and homeland.

The Middle East has come a long way since the Arabs’ infamous, hateful “three no’s” Khartoum resolution in 1967 (no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and no negotiations with Israel). The formal Israeli-UAE agreement to be signed shortly will mark the third Arab-Israeli peace agreement, after the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty in 1994 and the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1979. ZOA is also pleased to hear that, thanks to the assistance of the U.S. administration, additional Arab-Israeli agreements may come to fruition.

ZOA wishes to also congratulate Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ambassador David Friedman, Presidential Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz, and Aryeh Lightstone for their extraordinary and historic work on the Israel-UAE deal, which increased the real possibility of greater security and prosperity for all countries in the region. 

ZOA is however disappointed that the deal temporarily suspends Israel’s restoration of her sovereignty over lawful and historic Jewish lands in Judea/Samaria and the Jordan Valley where 500,000 Jews live.  We hope that restoration of Israel’s rightful sovereignty will occur in the very near future.  It is vital, for Israel’s security and the well-being of the large Jewish population in Judea/Samaria, for Israel to restore her rightful sovereignty prior to the upcoming U.S. election, which is only 82 days away.