The Jerusalem Post: Three Gulf countries are seeking to partner with Israel to combat the Corona pandemic

A report published by the Israeli Jerusalem Post reports that three Gulf countries are seeking to partner with Israel to combat the Corona pandemic.

Lahav Harkov said in her newspaper report that this step comes after years of closer Israeli relations with these Gulf states.

The newspaper says that three Gulf countries have contacted Israel in recent weeks to receive information and assistance in combating the "Covid-19" virus, and that these countries make up half of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The State of Bahrain and another undisclosed Gulf country contacted the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, expressing their interest in the hospital's response to the epidemic.

UAE Ambassador
The newspaper attributes the Emirati Ambassador to the United Nations, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, saying publicly that her country's government is ready to work with Israel on the Corona vaccine.

The newspaper adds that the Emirati ambassador stated: I have heard leaders in the Gulf say repeatedly that with our resources, wealth, and Israeli innovations we can find a vaccine and a cure.

Rabbi Mark Schneier says that the leaders of the Gulf states saw this epidemic as an opportunity to cooperate with Israel.

There is an opportunity to unite forces, and there are many issues that go beyond politics in the Middle East, ”added the rabbi, who has extensive ties in the Gulf as head of the Interfaith Dialogue Organization and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

Medicines and innovations
Schneier and Director of the Sheba International Division Yoel Harvin says that Bahrain and another Gulf country - refusing to name it - are interested in telemedicine or telemedicine innovations in Israel and the ways in which the Jewish state responded to the Corona epidemic.

"We gave them all the help they needed, even if they were related to doctors or nurses, or to send teams to them to exchange logistical knowledge," Harvin said, adding that "whatever assistance we can provide to our neighbors, we will do so happily."

Harvin explained that the country whose name was not mentioned is a "central and different" state in the Gulf and not "a country we used to hear about," noting that it is not known that Israel has relations with it, and this is the reason why it is trying to not attract attention.

And Harvin confirms that there are "a lot of things that happen above and below the surface," noting that the governments in that region are very central, which means that contact with the "Sheba" center happened with the approval of the leaders, adding that "they strongly believe in the relationship with Israeli medicine and Israel in general." .

Harvin says that the hospital participated in the US-backed conference in Bahrain last year, which was aimed at encouraging investment in the Palestinian economy with a view to peace.

He added that Schneier at that time linked the director of the Sheba Center, Professor Yitzhak Kreis, and others to a leading figure in the Gulf.

"We are in contact with some of the people we met there and they are planning to come to visit us," said Harvin. "We are trying to see how to promote medicine in the Gulf states and how medicine can be a bridge between what is happening here and there."

Harvin described medical issues as "the only non-political issue that we can agree on."

Seminar and epidemic

As for the UAE’s ambassador to the United Nations, Lana Nusseibeh, she said last Tuesday during an online seminar hosted by the American Jewish Committee and the “Jewish Insider” website. To know boundaries or barriers.

"I am sure there is ample room for cooperation, I don't think we will oppose it," she added.

Nusseibeh referred to Israeli scientific research on treating the Coronavirus, describing it as "very exciting".

The newspaper goes on to say that talking about cooperation with the Gulf states comes in the context of fighting the Corona pandemic after years of closer relations between Israel and these countries, in light of its opposition to Iran and its encouragement by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Last week, the US ambassador to Israel David Friedman said that he is "very optimistic" about the strong relations between Israel and the Gulf countries in the coming years, and that it is likely to come collectively, from a group of countries, instead of a single Gulf country taking the first step.

"Allies with America can be allies with each other, that is the natural development of relationships," Friedman added.

Friedman pointed out that the public climax of these growing relations between Israel and some Gulf countries was through a workshop in Bahrain last year entitled "Peace for Prosperity" aimed at encouraging investments in the Palestinian economy.

However, the Israeli newspaper says that there are reports - confirmed by Schneier - that Gulf leaders will be ready to meet with the Israeli leadership.