In the News

The Times of Israel December 15, 2020 ‘The grand prize for Jewish tourism is not Israel but the American Jewish community,’ says Marc Schneier, who will launch new initiative alongside Bahraini tourism minister An American rabbi with extensive ties to the Arab world is set to launch an effort to attract Jewish travelers to the Gulf, including to nations that have not yet established formal ties with Israel and have hitherto been closed off to Jewish tourists. New York-based Rabbi Marc Schneier is...

Gulf Business By Aarti Nagraj December 15, 2020 Rabbi Marc Schneier is launching new tourism initiatives in the GCC As Rabbi Marc Schneier tells me when we meet, that while those doing the economic deals fly at 30,000 feet, he’s always flown at 70,000 ft. The American – whose book Sons of Abraham was recently published in English and Arabic for distribution in the region – has played a key role is driving Jewish-Muslim relations, especially with the GCC states, far before the Abraham Accords were...

The Jerusalem Post By Seth Frantzman December 15, 2020 There is a need for Israel to move on the Palestinian issue. Most Gulf countries expect to see some changes and an opening by Israel to the Palestinians. Rabbi Marc Schneier is an adviser to leaders in the Gulf and believes that more peace deals will come in the future. In an interview last week in Dubai, the rabbi, who has worked on peace and coexistence in the region for many years, spoke about his view of what the future looks like. Schneier...

The Khaleej Times By Rabbi Marc Schneier October 14, 2020 At this historic moment of mutual embrace between Muslims and Jews, we share a euphoric sense that there is nothing we cannot accomplish Contrary to long-standing conventional wisdom, there are no two faith communities in the world that have more in common than do Muslims and Jews. I first became aware of this profound truth in 2006, when I visited a Muslim school in New York City, and held a life-changing discussion with the students and...

Agence France-Presse September 23, 2020 From scrubbing hate-filled school textbooks to a taboo-defying religious sermon, Saudi Arabia is pushing for another kind of normalisation after declining to establish formal relations with Israel — co-existence with Jews. Saudi Arabia has said it will not follow its allies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in establishing diplomatic relations without a resolution to the Palestinian issue, even as it cultivates clandestine ties with the Jewish state. Having...

Arutz Sheva By: Yoni Kempinski September 22, 2020 Foundation for Ethnic Understanding President and Advisor to Gulf leaders Rabbi Marc Schneier spoke to Arutz Sheva about the Abraham Accords, Judea/Samaria annexation, current trends in the Gulf, and what he says is not only economic but rather also a true closeness between Islam and Israel. Rabbi Schneier says the King of Bahrain told him “repeatedly” that “our only guarantee for a strong, moderate Arab presence in the Gulf would...

The Associated Press By: Aya Batrawy September 22, 2020 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia, the most powerful Arab nation and home to Islam’s holiest sites, has made its official position on the region’s longest-running conflict clear: Full ties between the kingdom and Israel can only happen when peace is reached with the Palestinians. Yet state-backed Saudi media and clerics are signaling change is already underway with Israel — something that can only happen under the directives of...

The Arab News By Rabbi Marc Schneier September 18, 2020 Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which will usher in the Jewish year of 5781, begins on the evening of Friday, Sept. 18, and commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the universe. As is appropriate for a holiday commemorating what Jews consider to be the penultimate divine act, its canvas is the entire world, all of humanity. For Jews, Rosh Hashanah is a time of introspection and self-examination, during which we reflect on the good...

Arutz Sheva September 16, 2020 From the legislation against Hezbollah, to meetings at the peace workshop. These are the events which led up to the agreement with Bahrain. 2013 – 2015 King Hamad led the effort for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to legislate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Following his success in doing so, he told Rabbi Schneier (later appointed as a special advisor to King Hamad in 2018) during a meeting in his palace in Manama in 2016 that “our only hope for a strong...

Al Arabiya English By: Emily Judd September 15, 2020 Bahrain and Israel will sign a historic agreement of normalization on Tuesday, but in the last three years, the countries have interacted in various ways – from interfaith trips to security conferences. Here are seven events that paved the way to Tuesday’s landmark moment: December 2017: Interfaith group from Bahrain visits Israel An interfaith group from Bahrain traveled to Israel for a three-day visit on December 12, 2017. The 25 participants...