![]() ![]() What are they looking for? An enormous amount of fintech. Bahrain is obviously a separate and a different economy. ![]() So now with those platforms, having access both to direct investments in Israel, and access to Israeli technologies for that platform, you’re going to see deals happen. #JUST GOLD DEEPER VOICE PROFESSIONAL#What do these countries actually need from each other? UAE is probably one of the most professional and impressive investment houses that the world has ever seen. The fact that relations are normal means that normal business circumstances will triumph and what that means is, like any other economic circumstance that becomes deregulated – because ultimately, this was enormous deregulation - the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Kosovo, all had regulations that prevented economic growth. If you were to just say that sentence five years ago, nobody would have believed a single component of that. When Mubadala invests in natural gas coming from Israel, it‘s astonishing. I think that, in and of itself, is remarkable. Have you been surprised by the way that business connections have developed since the agreements were signed? I would argue that the Abraham Accords have not only withstood the challenges thrown at it but have grown and succeeded beyond the imagination of most of the leadership involved. You had Iran, China and the Russia and Ukraine issues. Jonathan Ferziger: How would you rate the success of the Abraham Accords thus far?Īryeh Lightstone: If you want to grade it on a curve, you had a pandemic, you’ve had three Israeli prime ministers and you’ve had two U.S. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Lightstone recently wrote a book about his diplomatic experiences titled Let My People Know: The Incredible Story of Middle East Peace – and What Lies Ahead, published by Encounter Books. Lightstone, an ordained rabbi, now hunts for potential Israeli investments as a consultant to Affinity Partners, the Saudi-backed private equity firm started by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and special White House adviser who led the team that negotiated the Abraham Accords. ![]() President Joe Biden has since said that he “strongly supports” the Abraham Accords. He said the Biden administration could have expanded the cohort of nations initiating ties with Israel if it hadn’t been gripped by “Trump derangement syndrome” and distanced itself from the previous president’s achievements when first taking office. “It would have been like the Gold Rush,” Lightstone, 42, who was chief of staff to Friedman and was appointed special envoy for economic normalization in the Middle East, told The Circuit in an interview. On the other hand, Lightstone said, he believes an additional five to 10 countries would have normalized relations with Israel had former President Donald Trump won a second term and followed the playbook that yielded the historic 2020 agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman’s closest aide, said that the Abraham Accords have “succeeded beyond the imagination of most of the leadership involved” since they were signed two years ago on the White House lawn. ![]()
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