Israel PM meets Bahrain’s Jewish community on landmark visit

Israel PM meets Bahrain’s Jewish community on landmark visit

Manama: Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Bahrain’s Jewish community Tuesday after arriving for the first visit by an Israeli head of government to the Gulf country, 17 months after they defied decades of tensions to normalise ties. Bennett was welcomed by Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani at Manama airport, which was decorated with the flags of both countries, late on Monday. He will meet King Hamad and Crown Prince Salman, who is also prime minister, on Tuesday. Bennett’s visit is the latest such initiative following the US-brokered 2020 Abraham Accords. “I’m very delighted to be here in Bahrain, and I could think of no better way to kick off this visit than seeing my family here,” he said during a meeting with members of the Jewish community, according to his office. Israel’s ambassador to Bahrain, Eitan Naeh, Jewish community president Ebrahim Nonoo, Jewish community member and former Bahraini ambassador to the US Houda Nonoo were also present. In September, Ebrahim Nonoo led prayer services in Manama’s renovated synagogue, bringing Jewish traditions into plain view after decades of worship in private. “We’re very happy to be out in the open,” Nonoo told AFP at the time.