by Lahav Harkov May 10, 2020
For full report see https://tinyurl.com/y6wwmzf3
Three Gulf states have reached out to Israel in recent weeks to
receive information and assistance in the fight against the novel coronavirus
disease known as COVID -19. The three make up
half of the countries that are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Bahrain and another Gulf state reached out to Sheba Medical Center
at Tel Hashomer, expressing interest in the hospital's response to the
pandemic, and the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United Nations said
publicly that her government would be willing to work with Israel on a vaccine.
“I have heard leaders in the
Gulf say over and over, ‘with our resources and wealth and Israeli innovation,
we can create a vaccine and a cure’…They have seen this pandemic as an
opportunity for cooperation between themselves and Israel,” said Rabbi Marc
Schneier, who has extensive ties in the Persian Gulf as president of the
interfaith dialogue organization Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. “There’s
an opportunity to join forces here. So many issues transcend politics in the
Middle East.”
Schneier and Yoel Hareven, director of Sheba's International Division,
said that Bahrain and another Gulf state, which they declined to name, have
taken an interest in telemedicine or remote medicine innovations in Israel and
the ways the Jewish state has responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We offered them any help they need, even if it’s connecting
doctors or nurses, or sending teams to them, sharing logistical knowledge,”
Hareven said. “Whatever help we can give our neighbors – we will do it
happily.”
Hareven said the unnamed country is “central and different” in the
Gulf and is “not one we’re used to hearing about,” adding that Israel is not
known to have ties with it, which is why they are keeping a low profile.
“There are a lot of things happening above and below the surface,”
Hareven said, noting that the governments in that region are very centralized,
which means the contact with Sheba took place with the leaders’ approval. “They
believe very strongly in the connection with Israeli medicine and Israel
generally.”
Talk of cooperation with Gulf states on fighting coronavirus comes
after years of closer ties between Israel and those countries, in light of
their opposition to Iran and encouragement from the Trump administration.
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