Israeli President Herzog key speaker at DC event, marking two years since the Abraham Accords

On a visit this week to Washington, D.C., Israeli President Isaac Herzog was the key speaker at a joint event hosted by the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, marking two years since the signing of the Abraham Accords. 

During the Atlantic Council “Front Page” event, titled “A conversation with President of Israel Isaac Herzog,” the president joined former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro in conversation, where he revealed that he intends to visit Israel’s Abraham Accords partner Bahrain “toward the end of the year.”

Herzog praised Israel’s growing integration in the wider Middle East, saying that “this paradigm shift has also led to a psychological paradigm shift.” 

“More and more Israelis and Arab neighbors throughout the region are talking to each other, and, of course, in my mind the dialogue between Muslim and Jew, wherever it takes place, is always more than welcome and extremely important,” he said. 

The president noted that he had seen this phenomenon firsthand: “For me, it was an eye-opener to be a guest at a state visit in the United Arab Emirates, hosted by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed [Al Nahyan], where [Israeli anthem] Hatikvah was played at the national palace.” 

Revealing his intention to visit Bahrain this year, Herzog noted, “The enormous amount of energy of joint projects and ideas that have emanated from these treaties is just incredible.”

He spoke of his vision for a “Renewable Middle East,” a regional alliance to combat the climate crisis: “I believe that there will be a Middle Eastern treaty. It may take a generation to get there but we are not far away in so many issues.”

The president also showed the audience intelligence to prove that Iranian-manufactured drones have been used against civilians in the war on Ukraine.

“Innocent civilians in Ukraine are being killed and hurt and wounded and are suffering from Iranian weapons,” Herzog said. “Iran flatly denied supplying drones to the war against Ukraine; I want to show you two slides that unequivocally prove that Iranian drones are participating in the war in Ukraine against innocent Ukrainian civilians.” 

“I want to point out that Iran has kept on supplying these drones and they are attacking all over Ukraine with suicide drones, special UAVs that are meant to create havoc in large scope,” he stated.