Two Israeli residents who wanted to thank Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for their role in the Abraham Accords recently came to the Gulf State after receiving a personal invitation from the King of Bahrain.
As per the Friday reports, Uriel Pearl and Joy Malka Rothenberg, members of an Israeli initiative that seeks to develop business links between Israel and the kingdom, sought to gift the king with a “dove of peace” sculpture by renowned Israeli sculptor Daniel Kafri.
Other ways of sculpture were given to leaders who were involved in the Israel Jordan peace treaty in 1994.
Furthermore, they explained the symbolic significance of the statue in the whole history of Israel and their desire to gift it to the king in a letter conveyed to the Bahraini palace by Bahraini Ambassador to Israel, Khaled Yousif al-Jalahma.
Two months after sending the letter, Pearl and Malka Rothenberg were surprised after learning the king himself had invited them to visit his palace in Manama.
The duo reached Bahrain in March, and the royal officials of Bahrain welcomed them. They had a meeting of half an hour with the king, in which they discussed the warm relations between the countries and the local Jewish community, as per the reports.
The king reportedly expressed that the peace agreement with the Jewish state was the official expression of a close partnership for years.
“We always carried good relations with the Jews,” he said, stating towards the country a traditional prayer every year for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that includes 3000 people from all religions.
“One cannot be against the oldest religion in this world. Your religion is wonderful. One can only go against the behavior of certain people, but not your religion, our father is Abram, and we are their son, he added.
Moreover, Pearl and Malka Rothenberg with the king about the historical and religious context of the “dove of peace” symbol and told him about his old versions were presented on former US President Bill Clinton and King Hussein of Jordan for their roles in bridging peace with Israel.
“The time has come, and we deserve one too,” he reportedly said.
According to Ynet, Pearl, and Malka Rothenberg explained, the Bahrain KIng is Kind, calm, and powerful.
After the meeting, they said that the king had a loud laugh, and everyone who was present in the room was fascinated by his charm.
They added We thank the Bahraini ambassador for showing his interest in our ideas and at the same time appreciating the opportunity to make our nations closer together through art.