They had the courage to forge peace with Israel. Finally, Vice President of Sudan Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Also, the king of Morocco, his majesty Mohammed VI. Second is the king of Bahrain, I know him very well, I have great relations with him, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. He helped bring the UAE into the modern world and he made history. And I would like to recognize four people, the first being Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the president of the United Arab Emirates, a courageous man who deserves respect. JNS: Do you believe that additional Arab and Islamic countries will make peace with Israel?Ī: Years ago, nobody believed that Arab countries would do so. In 2009, I made the decision to come to Israel, to get to know the Israeli population and the geopolitical situation first-hand. But whenever I attended events that were related to the Shoah and getting closer to the Jewish community, and in relation to the, I was brought back to Israel and the Palestinians and Gaza. I had this tendency to avoid speaking about politics or international affairs and instead focus on France. I have friends who spoke to me about Israel but initially I said, we are French Muslims, you are French Jews, it’s unnecessary to speak about Israel because we are neither Palestinians nor Israelis. A: In 2004-2005, I often had encounters with the members of the Jewish community and also went to Holocaust memorials since I am the imam of Drancy, a city known for its relationship to the Shoah.

The Jewish Neighbor by A.M. Khalifa