Jake Sullivan was 44 when President Biden named him as national security advisor, making him the youngest American to hold the post in nearly 60 years. He comes not from a college campus with sweeping, untested theories, but rather from Capitol Hill and the State Department with practical experience as a diplomat and policymaker. He focuses on what is possible given the balance of forces for and against any proposal, with attention to detail and confidence in America's capacity to renew its foreign policy.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Sullivan was a quiet star in the Obama years when he worked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Foreign policy legend Richard Holbrooke once advised an incoming special envoy with these words: "Let me tell you, the only person and the one person you need to get to know, who is loved by everyone in the institution [the State Department] and gets things done, is Jake Sullivan."

Since taking office as National Security Advisor in 2021, Sullivan has faced an avalanche of foreign policy challenges: Afghanistan, Taiwan, Sudan, the war imposed by the Russians on the Ukrainian people, the massive Russian hacking of American companies and federal agencies and the repeated North Korean missile tests.

Sullivan's visit to Saudi Arabia this weekend, especially his meetings with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and India, could mark a turning point in American policy in the Middle East.

Sullivan is a comparatively young man meeting leaders of his generation: Saudi's Mohammed bin Salman and the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalid bin Zayed. Each is old enough to understand the gravity of his responsibilities but young enough to understand the aspirations of his cohort for technological progress, access to global markets, and economic development. In short, jobs, security and hope.

This visit should also reassure and reiterate President Biden's commitment to the Middle East as a region that is important and securely yoked to America's interests. Sullivan's visit is a chance at a reset.

The Biden administration has made some course corrections that should make it easier to engage with the Arab world. After months of hesitation, it has embraced the Abraham Accords as an opportunity for greater regional integration. Secretary of State Blinken's participation in the Negev Forum, which brought together Israeli and Arab leaders to discuss cooperation on issues ranging from security and climate change to trade and education, was positive. Administration leaders should plan for repeat performances.

The truce in Yemen followed by the talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia is another positive sign.

Opportunities abound for Sullivan to make further progress. The Saudi-Iranian agreement, even though China was its convener, has been followed from start to finish by Sullivan and the Biden administration. It may offer some opportunities. Finally, the interest of the Biden administration in Israeli-Saudi normalization, which will certainly be done in staggered steps, is an enormous opportunity.

Perhaps Sullivan's biggest opportunity lies with the new I2U2 coalition – the partnership of India, Israel, the United States, and the UAE. It opens the possibility of connecting South Asia with the Middle East, for investment, trade, tourism and other purposes, in a way that strengthens America and her allies while offering an alternative to the road being laid down by China.

Although the Arab Gulf countries have developed relations with Russia and have turned to China for trade and investment, their most important relationship remains with America. Only the United States can offer the security and intelligence partnerships that protect the Gulf nations from their adversaries. Shared US-Gulf interests, backed by decades of work together, remain vital, whatever new trial balloons Beijing and Moscow may float.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories! 

Sullivan must show that the United States is serious about helping Saudi Arabia and other Arab partners defend their territory against attacks – both digital and physical. To do that, the United States must maintain its substantial military presence to secure vital waterways, especially its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and its air base in Qatar, along with other facilities in Saudi Arabia itself.

Sullivan also knows that Israel can contribute to its Arab neighbors' security in significant ways, with its close military relationship with the United States, its economic dynamism and its ability to invest money, management, and new technology in neighboring lands. This would promote peace and regional stability.

Sullivan has a unique opportunity to bring American ingenuity to one of the most prosperous regions in the world. His visit to Saudi Arabia may reveal his first steps.

Featured on JNS.org, this article was first published by The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune.

The post Jake Sullivan's moment appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Joe Biden's election comes at a unique moment for America and an inflection point around the world.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter 

Within his country, Biden represents the countervailing response to the insurgent, anti-establishment forces unleashed and led by Donald Trump. On the one hand, those forces brought hitherto marginalized problems to the fore. They exposed the opioid epidemic for the national tragedy it has become, requiring national solidarity with the victims and a national strategy to save them.

They brought a more frank and open conversation about the tradeoffs of different immigration policies, however strident and painful the discourse became. On the other hand, the Trump approach injected stridency and pain into the discourse and tainted the discussion with the President's own flippancy toward the burdens and requirements of democratic governance.

This latter tendency culminated in the assault on the Capitol, fueled by President Trump's inability or unwillingness to accept the results of the election. Without question, January 6 was a stain on this nation that views itself and is still viewed by many others, as a standard-bearer of democracy.

This unique moment for the United States highlights Biden's unique virtues as a unifier. A presidential campaign he defined by the nation's longing for unity should not give way to an administration driven by vindictiveness and score-settling.

Trump won nearly 75 million votes, more than any candidate in history save Biden himself. Governing the United States without them would be all but impossible. Many of Trump's supporters have legitimate grievances with coastal elites and globalization policies: an approach to trade that enriched some at the expense of many; an immigration policy that accelerated the decline of America's industrial base.

Meanwhile, viewed from outside the United States, Trump's personality may be unique, but his brand of politics is not. Many Western countries – and some non-Western ones too – have experienced a populist surge sharing many of the same characteristics. In some cases, such as Poland, they are parties of the Right. In others, notably Greece, they are offshoots of the Left. Their Middle Eastern equivalents – consider Tunisian Islamist  Rached Ghannouchi, President of Congress, or Turkish neo-imperialist Erdogan – defy Western rubrics or easy categorization.

Foreign policy failures, above all America's decades-long entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan, were crucial to the rise of this populism. Their legacy makes it all the more crucial for Biden to find his footing on foreign policy.

In this area, as in so many others, Trump proved to be a disruptive force. He withdrew from multilateral agreements, openly feuded with allies, and disparaged the role of civil service at home and abroad. Yet for all that, his administration enjoyed certain notable successes that Biden would be wise to build on. Principally, against decades of convention and all expectations, five Arab states have not only signed treaties with Israel but also taken meaningful steps toward sustained people-to-people engagement with the Israeli people, heralding the possibility of genuine, warm peace.

This welcome trend, a departure from generations of boycotting and exclusion, owes its launch to the inventive leadership of the United Arab Emirates and its consolidation to the centuries-old Kingdom of Morocco, bound to the Jewish world through ties of blood and trusted by the Palestinian people through decades of solidarity and support.

This brings us to Joe Biden's foreign policy speech. In a clear, ringing voice, Biden announced that "America is back" and "diplomacy is back," and made several commitments. He affirmed that the defense of democracy and human rights are bedrock principles of American foreign policy. He adopted the time-honored view that foreign policy is at its most effective when America's alliances are at their strongest. He embraced the principle that consistency and reliability are valuable ends in and of themselves.

These points are at once banal and heartening. America's many friends abroad welcome a renewed American commitment to alliances and service as a steadfast guarantor of international liberal order. But where American policymakers find conflict between these principles and the major foreign policy decisions of the prior administration, they will also encounter a dilemma.

A reflexive reversal of the gamut of Trump precedents risks undermining those very alliances. It would raise precisely the same doubts about American credibility and consistency that Biden's team so often – and rightly – critiqued about the Trump administration.

And the need for American leadership has never been greater. COVID-19 presents a unique challenge and, as American development of not one but three unique vaccines illustrates, a unique reflection of the country's tradition as a beacon of hope. Chinese expansionism and authoritarian brutality – ongoing atrocities against the Uighur come to mind – present an escalating threat.

I hope and trust that the Biden administration will renew and restore the essential role the US plays for its allies, from Europe to the Middle East to the reaches of Asia. Rarely have a man and a moment been better matched.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Joe Biden: A time-honored legacy meets a defining moment appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

History is being written again as the first direct flight from Tel Aviv is slated to land in the Moroccan capital of Rabat on Tuesday. This flight is the first visible sign of the new relationship between Morocco and Israel, opening a new era of diplomatic recognition.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter 

Morocco is now the fourth Arab country to declare new diplomatic agreements with Israel in as many months. The United Arab Emirates courageously led the way, despite threats from Iran and its proxies, by signing a peace accord with Israel in September 2020, making it the first Arab country to do so since Jordan in 1994. The Emirates were soon followed by Bahrain, Sudan, and now Morocco.

Peace between Morocco and Israel is rooted in decades of history. The late King Hassan II of Morocco worked tirelessly to promote rapprochement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. He facilitated all of the major peace initiatives, from Camp David in the 1970s to the Oslo Accords in the 1990s. Behind the scenes, King Hassan II was a driving force in making Egypt the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish state. King Mohammed VI maintains the same commitment to advance Israeli-Arab rapprochement.

King Mohammed VI has made it clear, both in public statements and in conversation with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the normalization agreement with Israel does not mean the abandonment of the Palestinians. Instead, it means the Palestinians are invited to rejoin negotiations, leaving behind the baggage of their past preconditions. Israeli leaders should also see these remarkable breakthroughs as an opportunity to bring new ideas, drawing inspiration from the American "Peace to Prosperity" plan of 2020.

The agreement between Israel and Morocco is historic, as are the family ties between Israel and Morocco. One million Israelis are either from Morocco or have had a parent or grandparent born there. The legal rights of Jews and other religious minorities are guaranteed in the Moroccan Constitution of 2011. Jewish schools still dot the major cities of Morocco, and Jews worship there freely.

There is, of course, a fringe of Moroccan society that rejects this agreement with Israel, mainly Islamist movements and followers of various leftist ideologies. However, millions of young Moroccans are fed up with extremist and xenophobic ideologies and want the opportunities and benefits that only peace and partnership can bring. They see Israel as a strong partner in creating jobs, growing capacities, and building hope for their future. 

The new wave of peace agreements is realigning the Arab world. A few decades ago, "from the [Atlantic] Ocean to the Gulf" was the slogan of pro-Soviet pan-Arab nationalists. Now, ironically, the same could be used to describe the partnership of forces – from Rabat and Casablanca on the Atlantic coast to Abu Dhabi and Manama in the Gulf, and with Cairo, Khartoum, Jerusalem, and Amman in between – that see totalitarian radicalism, this time in an Islamist costume, as a common threat.

Morocco, at the western flank of this alliance, has a crucial strategic contribution to make: its respected voice of moderate Islam can make a difference in the ideological struggle with Islamist radicals in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.

The new Moroccan-Israeli agreement is doubly significant for Moroccans because it was also accompanied by White House recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over its Saharan provinces. This dramatic step reflects American awareness that Rabat has committed a hundred billion dollars in investment for its Sahrawi population – while the Polisario separatist militia and its Algerian-backed enclave remain a hub of squalor, suffering, and terrorism. 

With these strides complete, the coming months present an opportunity for Arab countries to help reshape the international discourse and agenda on Israeli-Palestinian rapprochement. 

 Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The new Biden administration can help by adopting a new approach to peacemaking that draws lessons from the new wave of diplomatic outcomes. Now is the time to build on the promise of the new accords – for all their signatories, the Palestinians, and the broader region.  If the wave of peacemaking translates into a tangible benefit for Arab youth, pan-Arab support for peace with Israel will only grow.

Abraham Lincoln said: "The best way to predict your future is to create it." It falls on Americans, Arabs, Israelis, and all stakeholders in a secure and prosperous region to apply this principle to the cause of peace.

Ahmed Charai is a Moroccan publisher. He sits on the board of the Atlantic Council and is a member of the global board of advisers of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. Boaz Bismuth is Israel Hayom's editor-in-chief. 

The post Arab-Israeli peace now spans the region from east to west appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The new Middle East that has emerged since the Arab Spring, the rise and fall of Islamic State – as well as the rise of Iran's role in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen – is a region that is more divided and also one where openness to Israel has increased among Arab states.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter 

Israel and Morocco agreed to normalize relations, US President Trump and King Mohammed VI of Morocco said Thursday. "This will be a very warm peace," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, adding that Israel and Morocco would quickly set up liaison offices and introduce direct flights between the two countries.

The historic announcement marks a true turning point in Middle East affairs.

Count me among many Arabs who have long believed that the peace between arabs and Israel through full normalization deserves a chance – albeit one of the few who says so publicly. I have held this view to the surprise of many American, Israeli, and Palestinian friends.

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner has been key to pushing the peace deals. Kushner's years of patient and quiet behind-the-scenes negotiation paid off. Tossing out the tired scripts of past talks, he listened, he learned, he summarized to show his understanding, and he asked fresh questions.

Kushner succeeded in getting his vision adopted.

Israeli observers of a certain age will recall the statesmanship of the present king's late father, Hassan II, who worked tirelessly to foster rapprochement between Israel and its neighbors, including the Palestinians. He did so privately as well as publicly – on the one hand, facilitating every major initiative from Camp David to Oslo behind the scenes; King Hassan II is considered the main architect of the first peace agreement between Egypt and israel.

King Mohammed VI maintains the same commitment to advancing Israeli-Arab rapprochement – and the same willingness to do so discreetly.

The Arab world has never been monolithic. Other Arab states may probably follow countries that do not border Israel are not directly affected by the plight of they Palestinian people, other than by considerations of international law, charity and mercy. Without the unity of the Arab world supporting a stalemate that has dragged on for half a century, the Palestinians will have to readjust their strategies.

Israel, too, may change. Trade, the peaceful exchange of goods and ideas, may forge new connections among the young and ambitious, on both sides of the Arab-Jewish divide. In time, the bitterness of the old may be replaced by the hopefulness of the young.

On a very important subject for Moroccans, and in an unprecedented move, Trump recognized Morocco's sovereignty over Sahara provinces.

Morocco's serious, credible and realistic autonomy proposal is the only basis for a just and lasting solution for enduring peace and prosperity!"President's Trump said in a Tweet. "Morocco recognized the United States in 1777. It is thus fitting we recognize their sovereignty over the Sahara."

The White House released a statement formally proclaiming the recognition of Morocco's territorial claim over the Sahara.

"Now, therefore, I, Donald J Trump, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim that the United States recognizes that the entire Western Sahara territory is part of the Kingdom of Morocco."

The vast majority of Moroccans really do stand behind the monarchy in that regard. The separatist movement, often known as the Polisario, jeopardizes peace and security in the whole region, rendering it a breeding ground for terrorism. This is an issue that's been out there for a long time, and there's just been no progress on a resolution. As part of the recognition agreement, the United States diplomatic mission to Morocco will open a consulate in Dakhla, a city in the south Sahara.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

By recognizing Morocco's sovereignty over an area where Morocco engaged a hundred of billions of dollars of investments for the Sahraoui population could possibly break the logjam.

In that, the agreement between Morocco and Israel should be praised for being truly game-changing, laying the groundwork for genuine Israeli-Arab friendship, and signifying the long-awaited acknowledgment of each other's humanity.

The post The makings of a true Israeli-Arab friendship appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Americans I know disparage the architects – led by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner – as neophytes, too young and inexperienced to develop a viable solution.

Most Israelis I know have doubted whether any plan that meets Israel's minimal security requirements for a solution could win Palestinian acceptance – to say nothing of a plan that exceeds those requirements.

As to my Palestinian friends, who adopt a moderate outlook not dissimilar from that of left-of-center Americans and Israelis, they have feared the erosion of the two-state solution.

Now the text of the plan has been released, and my phone is ringing off the hook. Asked whether I still believe in the plan, my answer remains the same.

The contents obviate several key concerns of its detractors, and the rollout has chalked up several achievements which prior peace initiatives did not. For the sake of future generations of Israelis and Palestinians, the region and the world should wish and work for the plan's success.

To those who warned that the Trump administration was eroding the long-held US commitment to a two-state solution, we now have an explicit reaffirmation of that goal, with a practical plan for achieving it.

The failure to build vibrant Palestinian civil, economic, and cultural institutions has always been a significant obstacle to their dream of statehood – as surely as the Israeli people's success at doing so over the years preceding their declaration of statehood was a major asset.

Thus it is pragmatic to open a four-year window for the Palestinians to pursue such an outcome, as the Trump plan essentially does.

No prior conception of a peace settlement, moreover, has gone as far in articulating a plan to foster Palestinian civil and economic vitality.

When the Bahrain economic workshop convened, the Palestinian leadership refused to participate. But the substance of the elaborate economic vision – not widely covered or discussed – was serious and credible.

The fact that it convened in an Arab capital and won large pledges of financial support from Saudi Arabia and other countries was unprecedented. And the fact that both Hamas and the PLO rejected it should not obscure the presence of some Palestinians at the event. They paid a heavy price back home– but many young Palestinians applauded their courage.

Nor was it a small feat to breach numerous political barriers Tuesday in bringing rival factions together to stand with the president as he unveiled the political component of the plan in the East Room.

In an era of hyper-polarization in Israel ahead of its third election in under a year, both incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, came to Washington to pledge their support for the plan.

And despite widespread expectations that Arab states would distance themselves, the rollout was attended by the ambassadors of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman. This, despite the former two being at odds with the latter over an intra-Gulf standoff and policies toward Iran.

It was hardly a surprise that no Saudi official attended: The "land of the two holy mosques" is in a state of political flux, with hardline elements struggling against a brash reformist crown prince at the helm. But few doubt that the kingdom's future king is working hand in glove with the Trump administration on a range of issues, including this one.

As to the parties to the conflict, there is a widespread view of the proposal as being heavily biased toward Israel.

But let's unpack that: This is the first plan that unambiguously repudiates the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees, which would spell the end of the Jewish state via demographic engineering.

It's also the first plan that calls for the disarmament of Hamas and a structure for territorial concessions that protect Israel from a repeat of the rash of mass suicide attacks that followed the Oslo Accords. This is not the partisan agenda of any faction in Israel; these are consensus goals for mainstream Israelis on the Right and Left, and reasonable baseline expectations for any population.

Thus the plan is, by comparison with its predecessors, refreshingly realistic. Recent opinion surveys on the Palestinian side, for their part, lend their form of faith to this principle. Though rejectionist ideologues remain in power, younger generations express greater interest in economic progress, standing up to corruption in their institutions, and engaging Israel and the broader region in pursuit of these goals.

Young Gazans, moreover, are increasingly turning against Hamas – and would welcome the change in leadership over their territory, which the Trump plan calls for.

If the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to be resolved, the needed settlement will provide a path toward Palestinian statehood that runs through economic development and institution-building while protecting Israeli citizens from a new wave of "peace-plan violence."

Leaving all partisanship aside and separating any personal feelings about the architects from the content of their plan, I believe it offers the strongest basis yet for negotiation. It should be seriously engaged – if not accepted piecemeal – by all parties to the conflict and encouraged by Arab and Western actors alike.

The post An Arab case for the Trump peace plan appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.