For a long time, virtually all the Arab countries, without exception, considered Israel to be “the problem”. And even countries that are relatively friendly to us today, such as Morocco, also took an active part in the war against Israel in one of our most difficult moments — the Yom Kippur War.
But in the last decade, or more precisely since the Arab Spring erupted in the region, the situation has fundamentally changed .
The collapse of regimes in some countries and the growing threat of extremist Islamic groups such as ISIS, al-Qaida, the Hussites, etc., together with the growing Iranian threat, have forced most Arab states to realize that Israel is not their “problem”, but rather their “solution”.
In fact, there have been close contacts between Israel and many Arab and Muslim countries for a very long time, for many years. However, previously these contacts were kept completely secret and were considered a “state secret”, guarded with the utmost confidentiality. In recent years, however, such relations between Israel and the Arab countries have been gradually revealed and expanded.
The most vivid expression of this process is, of course, the “The Abraham Accords” that Israel has concluded with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
However, even those countries that have not yet signed such agreements with us have also begun to change their attitude toward Israel. For example, the son of Libyan General Haftar, one of that country’s most influential presidential candidates with a powerful fighting force, recently visited Israel. At the same time, other Libyan candidates for the leadership position spoke positively about Israel and even called for normalization. Considering the fact that Libya was not long ago led by the Gaddafi regime, which for decades directed and organized brutal terror against Israel, this is certainly a real revolution.
Similarly, Egypt, which has signed peace agreements with Israel but for years has maintained an exclusively formal peace that is much more like a cold war, recently asked the Israeli government to mediate between it and Ethiopia in the difficult dispute over the Ethiopian construction of a huge dam on the Nile, which would severely cut the water supply to Egypt. This appeal by Egypt to Israel illustrates the fact that Egypt views Israel as a solution to its urgent problems.
Morocco, one of the original signatories of the Abraham Accords, is now asking Israel for massive military assistance in its own security area. The country is interested in buying advanced weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Israel, both to fight terror and to develop a modern military force that could be used against Algeria, Morocco’s neighbor and old enemy.
Algeria has many modern weapons systems acquired from Russia, including submarines, modern fighter jets and S-300 surface-to-air missile batteries. Given this situation, Morocco is asking Israel to provide modern air defense systems capable of dealing with both conventional air threats and UAV suicide bombers and barraging munitions, which can cause serious damage to Morocco’s air and armored forces. In other words, it is clear that Morocco, as well, views Israel as a solution to its existential problems.
In Sudan, where another takeover has taken place in recent months, Israeli help in reaching a compromise between the army and the overthrown government has also been requested. According to various publications, the Mossad delegation sent to Sudan is succeeding in this task with great efficiency. In other words, thanks to Israel, stability is returning to Sudan, which for years has been an openly hostile state, through which convoys carrying Iranian long-range missiles for Hamas (which also passed through Egypt and the Sinai desert) were passing.
There are more and more publications about the aid that Arab countries ask Israel for in the fields of agriculture and high technology. And, of course, they also ask Israel to help them improve their relations with the United States. The world is changing in front of our eyes, and the darkness is gradually disappearing with the light that fills the world.
It should be remembered that even in our last moments of exile (that is, in the present time) we need to maintain and strengthen all elements of our physical and spiritual strength. It is important to realize that this also, by itself, drives the Arab countries closer to us.
Chassidism teaches us that Chanukah candles are lighted outside and precisely in the darkness — to illuminate the darkness — and to turn it into light. Let us all light as many Chanukah candles as we can together. May as many Jews as possible fulfill this wonderful commandment. This is how we will bring into the world the great light all together that will dispel the darkness of exile. In this way, together we will bring the true and complete Redemption in the very near future with the revelation of the Lubavitcher Rebbe SHLITA, King Moshiach!