Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, there has been a remarkable shift in Israel's relations with the Muslim world. New reports have emerged of the possibility of further breakthroughs in diplomatic ties with former foes like Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Another large Muslim country observers say could normalize ties with Israel is Bangladesh. While Bangladesh and Israel have no formal ties, there have been reports of unofficial economic and military cooperation between the countries. Although travel to Israel is forbidden, the Muslim country also dropped a key restriction on travel to Israel earlier this year, fueling speculation that normalization may be on the horizon.
"After South Africa was delisted, Bangladesh established relations. Following Taiwan's delisting, Bangladesh established relations. There is every reason to think that this recent change with regards to Israel will lead to the road of normalization and open relations," Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the editor of the Weekly Blitz, a Bangladeshi pro-Israel, anti-militancy newspaper, told JNS.
Economic and military cooperation is believed to be ongoing between the two countries, regardless of official diplomatic status. Multiple media reports indicate that Bangladesh has purchased Israeli military-grade technology, and the World Bank's World Integrated Trade Solution database showed that between 2010 and 2018, Israel imported products worth around $333.74 million that originated in Bangladesh. WITS data shows that $3.67 million worth of Israeli exports eventually made their way to Bangladesh between 2009 and 2015.
'Our people don't forget'
Despite the lack of ties today, Israel was an early supporter of Bangladesh during its war of independence from East Pakistan in the early 1970s and was one of the first nations to recognize independent Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the country's original leaders shunned Israel in favor of then-Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, who sided with Pakistan.
When Pakistan gained independence in 1947 from the United Kingdom, it was comprised of two Muslim-majority regions, East Pakistan (comprising modern-day Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (modern-day Pakistan). However, ethnic and linguistic differences between the two regions were immediate, with West Pakistan imposing political and economic control over East Pakistan, which eventually sparked an independence movement among the ethnic Bengalis in East Pakistan. Seeking to curb the Bengali independence movement, Pakistani forces launched Operation Searchlight to eliminate all Bengali political and military opposition. This led to the 1971 Bangladesh genocide and eventually the War of Liberation, which culminated in Pakistan's surrender on Dec. 16, 1971, and Bangladesh gaining independence on March 26, 1971.
Bangladesh officials, however, have publicly insisted that the country will not normalize relations with Israel until there is a just resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It's a position some see as perverse, given the story of Bangladesh's liberation.
"Yasser Arafat was comparing our war of liberation as a conflict between Israel and Palestine and branding our freedom fighters as terrorists, while Israel was supporting us. We should have had diplomatic relations with Israel from the very day Israel extended its recognition to Bangladesh," said Choudhury.
Choudhury faced charges of sedition, treason, blasphemy, and espionage in part for attempting to attend a conference of the Hebrew Writers' Association in Tel Aviv in 2004. He was beaten, jailed in solitary confinement for 17 months, and denied medical treatment before being released on bail with the help of an American congressman, though the charges against him are still pending.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
Choudhury noted that Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, Bangladesh's first foreign minister, was responsible for turning Israel away. Ahmad later took part in a plot that led to the assassination of Bangladesh's first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1975. Following the assassination, Ahmad immediately took control of the government and declared himself president.
"The man responsible for our country's original anti-Israel standing was himself an enemy of the state. We have had relations with Pakistan for nearly a half-century – a country responsible for the killing of 3 million of our people but no official relations with Israel. It makes no sense," said Choudhury.
The lack of official diplomatic relations between the countries does not appear to be stem from overt antisemitism, though it certainly exists in Bangladesh society. In fact, one of Bangladesh's most revered war heroes was Jewish.
Lt. Gen. Jack Farj Rafael Jacob, an officer in the Indian military, played a crucial role in negotiating the surrender of Pakistan in Dhaka during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
His death was publicly mourned by high-level officials, and he was previously bestowed with the "Friend of Liberation War Honor" award. Louis Isadore Kahn, a Jewish Estonian-born American architect, designed Bangladesh's National Assembly parliament building.
Bangladesh's rapid development has not gone unnoticed by Israeli officials, who publicly welcomed the removal of Israel's printed exclusion on Bangladesh passports and have openly called for warmer ties over the years. Bangladesh has a $409 billion economy, and its government structure is quite liberal. Women have led the country for nearly all of the last 20 years, and the current prime minister, parliament speaker, and opposition leader are all women.
Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of mission at the Israeli consulate in Dubai, recently became the highest-ranking Israeli official to give an interview to a Bangladesh media outlet, telling the Weekly Blitz that, "Bangladesh could be a very important partner for us. Bangladesh has centers of innovation, a big population, resources, and [Bangladeshi] people understand that the next step in business is innovation, as the old technologies are cold and spoiled and have a limited lifespan. We're waiting for partnerships with Bangladeshi researchers, universities, companies, and I think that everybody in the region would benefit from this relationship," intimating that mutual ally India could play a critical role in bringing Israel and Bangladesh together.
As Rahman put it, "In international relations, nothing is permanent. Borders change. Governments change. It's a matter of time."
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
