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Friday, September 11, 2020

Bahrain, 4th Country to Make Peace With Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
                                                                     
Bahrain just announced that they are making peace with Israel, first, by recognition.  They are the 4th country after Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and now Bahrain.  The island nation comprises a small archipelago made up of 40 natural islands and an additional 51 artificial islands, centered around Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 % of the country's landmass.
                                                   
King of Bahrain:  Hamad bin Isa bin Salman al KhalifaHe has been the monarch of Bahrain since 6 March 1999, initially reigning as emir, and from 14 February 2002, as the first king. He is the son of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the previous and first emir.

Bahrain is the 42nd state in population of Muslim majority countries with a population of only 1,046,814 as of 2011.  81% were Muslim Sunni/Shi'a.  Bahrain’s population was  1.5 million at the end of 2017, according to the Central Information Organization (CIO). This number is made up of 677,000 Bahrainis, or 45 per cent of the population, and 823,000 foreigners, who make up the remaining 55 per cent.This is their state religion. 

"After World War II on May 8, 1945, increasing anti-British sentiment spread throughout the Arab World and led to riots in Bahrain. The riots focused on the Jewish community. In 1948, following rising hostilities and looting, most members of Bahrain's Jewish community abandoned their properties and evacuated to Bombay, later settling in Israel (Pardes Hanna-Karkur) and the United Kingdom. As of 2008, 37 Jews remained in the country.
                                            
The Kingdom of Bahrain is the island nation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This former British protectorate achieved its independence in 1971. Since the discovery of oil in the mid-20th century, Bahrain’s petroleum industry has been the backbone of the country’s economy and has become one of the wealthiest countries in the world. With its newfound wealth, the Bahraini government invested in public welfare, infrastructure and public sectors. This led to a steady increase in life expectancy in Bahrain.

Bahrein Islands are an Emirate in the Persian Gulf.  Jews, originating from Iraq, Iran and India first settled there in the late 19th century.  Their existence was peaceful until 1947, just before the announcement of Israel becoming a state which would follow on May 14, 1948.   In 1947 there were anti-Jewish demonstrations, even on this small island off of Saudi Arabia.  It was during Israel's War of Independence which started on November 29, 1947 when all Arabs responded with violence to the United Nations resolution on Palestine, and lasted until the signing of the Armistice Agreements in 1949.                    
                                                                       
     
In 1956, when  there was another war against Israel called the Sinai War.  This lasted from October 29 until November 5, 1956, a war that lasted 7 days.  It was when a threat was removed and the blockade was broken.  Egypt played a central role with hostile actions and they had reached their climax.  Throughout the previous year, the USSR had been massively supplying military equipment to Egypt and Syria, and within a year, there was a significant increase in the military strength of the  States.  

At this time in 1956, 400 Jews lived in the Bahrein Islands, but few remained by the 1980s.  
                                                        
President Trump in 2017 with the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa.  

Today, the 10th anniversary of 9/11's terrorist attack when over 3,000 Americans were killed in a brutal attack on the buildings they were in with an airplane that aimed for it and all died, was the fitting day for peace, said President Trump. 
                                                                                   
Bahrain accuses Iran of a"biological Agression" over COVID 19.
Israel will work with Bahrain in the fight against this virus, as well as with
the UAE.  

 Bahrain's ruling al-Khalifa royal family has been accused and criticized for human rights abuses including imprisonment, torture and execution of dissidents, political opposition figures and its majority Shia Muslim population. 
                                                   

Summers are very hot. The seas around Bahrain are very shallow, heating up quickly in the summer to produce very high humidity, especially at night. Summer temperatures may reach up to 50 °C (122 °F) under the right conditions. Rainfall in Bahrain is minimal and irregular. Precipitation mostly occurs in winter, with an average of 70.8mm of rainfall recorded annually.
                                                   

Bahrain has established bilateral relations with 190 countries worldwide. As of 2012, Bahrain maintains a network of 25 embassies, 3 consulates and 4 permanent missions to the Arab League, United Nations and European Union respectively. Bahrain also hosts 36 embassies. Bahrain plays a modest, moderating role in regional politics and adheres to the views of the Arab League on Middle East peace and Palestinian rights by supporting the two state solution. 
Bahrain is also one of the founding members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Relations with Iran tend to be tense as a result of a failed coup in 1981 which Bahrain blames Iran for and occasional claims of Iranian sovereignty over Bahrain by ultra-conservative elements in the Iranian public.
Saudi Arabian troops were sent into Bahrain to crush pro-democracy protests in 2011.
On September 2020, after the United Arab Emirates announced normalizing relations with Israel, Bahrain announced that it would allow all commercial flights coming from Israel to fly over its airspace.
  On September 11, 2020, Bahrain officially agreed to recognize Israel.

Resource:
facts about Israel from division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslim-majority-countries
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/world/middleeast/bahrain-israel-trump.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamad_bin_Isa_Al_Khalifa
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/bahrain-accuses-iran-biological-aggression-covid-2019-200312165334964.html
https://fanack.com/bahrain/population/

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