interview\u00a0<\/a>by Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot with the Arabic news website Elaph. \u201cSaudi newspaper interviews Israeli chief of staff!\u201d \u201cPeace with Saudi Arabia has begun!\u201d \u201cThe days of the messiah are upon us!\u201d was the general gist of the responses.<\/span><\/p>\nElaph is not, in fact, a Saudi newspaper, as was claimed in various reports. It is run from London by two people, one a native Saudi Arabian, the other an Iraqi.<\/span><\/p>\nThe interview was not conducted by a Saudi journalist who landed in Israel in secret, as was suggested, but by the veteran Druze-Israeli correspondent Majdi Halabi, who serves as Elaph\u2019s Israel correspondent.<\/span><\/p>\nElaph has given a platform to a number of Israeli writers since its establishment in 2001, including the present author. But by all means, if it can get everyone excited about a historical event or the coming of the messiah, why not?<\/span><\/p>\nIt is true that Eizenkot said interesting things in the interview. He warned that Israel \u201cwill not tolerate the entrenchment of an Iranian presence in Syria in general, and particularly west of\u00a0the Damascus-Suwayda road [forming a line roughly parallel to the Israel-Syrian border]. We will never allow any Iranian presence \u2013 we warned them against building military facilities and bases, and we will not allow it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\nWhat he said, in other words, is that Israel controls a strip of land inside Syria, dozens of kilometers wide along its border, and it will do everything in its power to expel the Iranians from it. But what will happen if the Iranians build a base there to test Israel\u2019s mettle? What if they publicly declare that an attack on their base will spark a big war? Will the IDF actually strike?<\/span><\/p>\nIt seems that Israelis \u2013 both senior officials and professional interviewees \u2013 have forgotten the first rule of Middle Eastern bazaar culture: \u201cNever show excitement, because the price will climb to a level you won\u2019t be able to afford.\u201d The Saudis need Israel because of the Iranians. They would get into bed with the devil himself if he would protect them from the Persians.<\/span><\/p>\nIsrael must maintain a poker face so the Saudis feel they have to work hard to convince it to give them what they want \u2013 on Jerusalem\u2019s terms.<\/span><\/p>\nSeventy years of solitude, hatred, boycotts, and insults from Israel\u2019s Arab neighbors have caused the Jewish state to be moved by any hint of a smile, to lose its cool over a handshake, to get excited when a question asked by an Israeli reporter is begrudgingly answered by a lowly Saudi prince, to cry with joy when a Kuwaiti representative deigns to remain in the auditorium when the Israeli ambassador speaks. This obsession with displays of Arab attention and Arab gestures has become a psychological disorder. The Arabs fully exploit Israel\u2019s yearning for their favor, delighting in its \u201clearned\u201d commentators\u2019 analyses of their every move.<\/span><\/p>\nThis unbridled excitement proves Israelis have not learned the Qur\u2019anic precept: \u201cVerily, God is with the patient\u201d (2:153). If you want God to help you, do not become overexcited, do not leave the safety of your front yard, do not show emotion, and do not make haste. Be cool, be patient, and don\u2019t drop your poker face.<\/span><\/p>\nThe fear of Iran that is pushing Riyadh in Israel\u2019s direction is presenting the Jewish state, perhaps for the first time, with an opportunity to dictate terms: direct peace negotiations solely with the Saudis, without any foreign intervention; a Saudi embassy in Jerusalem; recognition of the Jewish right to live everywhere in Israel; a clear distinction between Israeli-Saudi peace and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; a Saudi pledge to refrain from voting against Israel in international fora; full normalization, including scientific, cultural, commercial, and industry cooperation; and the acceptance of flags and anthems at sporting events. Should Riyadh reject this peace vision, it must not expect Israel\u2019s full support in the fight against Tehran.<\/span><\/p>\nAnyone who deems this sort of peace \u2013 which would be much better than the agreements Israel currently has with Egypt and Jordan \u2013 to be impossible is stuck in the mentality of Moses\u2019s twelve spies, who told him after scouting the Promised Land: \u201cWe seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and seemed the same in their eyes\u201d (Numbers 13:33). The day Israelis acknowledge their true size, their neighbors will treat them properly. Until that day, however, the festivities are grossly premature.<\/span><\/p>\nAn earlier version of this article was <\/i>published<\/i> on <\/i>Israel Hayom on November 22, 2017.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n*Dr. Mordechai Kedar is a senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He\u00a0served for 25 years in IDF military intelligence specializing in Syria, Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups, and Israeli Arabs, and is an expert on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\nsource:https:\/\/besacenter.org\/perspectives-papers\/saudi-arabia-israel-engagement\/<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar* December 4, 2017 BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 670, December 4, 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In view of Saudi Arabia\u2019s deep concern over Iran\u2019s … <\/p>\n