Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. Photo: Haim Zach / GPO

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with the Jewish community of Bahrain on Tuesday and gave them a shofar from Israel for their synagogue.

“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 in Bahrain,” said Bennett. “All of you are indeed family. I come from Israel with goodwill, with warm friendship between the two peoples, and I’m sure you can be a remarkable bridge between Bahrain and Israel. I’m looking forward to a wonderful day to strengthen the Abraham Accords, to strengthen the relationship between the nations.”

He said that the Jewish community is regarded highly by the Bahraini leadership, and that it serves as a model for cooperation between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East in general and in Bahrain in particular.

Bennett arrived in Bahrain on Monday evening, the first visit to the country by an Israeli prime minister. Israel and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords normalization agreement in September 2020.

Also at the meeting were Israeli Ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Naeh, Bahrain Jewish community president Abraham David Nonoo, Jewish community member and former Bahraini ambassador to the US Houda Nonoo and other senior officials.