(Israel Hayom via JNS) “May it be a blessed year for realizing peace and stability in the region,” wrote Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani in response to his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, who had sent a Rosh Hashanah blessing on the eve of the Jewish new year, 5781. In personal Rosh Hashanah message to both al-Zayani and to Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan respectively, Ashkenazi said: “My dear friend, on the eve of the new year on the Jewish calendar, I would like to wish you and your people a year full of peace, prosperity, stability and health! Happy New Year!”

Al-Zayani responded, saying, “Thank you my dear friend Gabi Ashkenazi, the foreign minister of the State of Israel, for the [Rosh Hashanah] blessing… May it be a blessed year of realizing peace and stability in the region.” Al-Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister, replied, ”Happy Rosh Hashanah, dear Gabi. This is a wonderful way to start the year and I hope this is a good sign for both of us in the region.”

On social media, too, Emirati citizens wished Israelis a happy new year. One twitter account managed in Hebrew said: “Happy new year to the Jews. May this year be the beginning of the new relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.”

Main Photo: Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan display their copies of signed agreements while US President Donald Trump looks on, at the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, at the White House in Washington, DC, Sept. 15, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Tom Brenner.