Abdul Hamid al-Hakim, the director of the Middle East Center for Strategic Studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has put out a series of tweets that are - for the Arab world - startlingly philo-semitic.
A video about two Jewish brothers from Iraq who were major songwriters there prompted him to say:
Iraqi-Israeli pop star Dudu Tassa, whose grandfather & great-uncle were the George & Ira Gershwin of Baghdad, has won fans across the Arab world. This clip from @JIMENA_Voice highlight's Dudu's dream: to perform in the land of his ancestors. https://t.co/WY9RsacOPO @robsatloff— Joseph Braude (@josephbraude) April 24, 2019
The Jews are an integral part of our societies where they have risen at all levels, and the history of the Jews confirms that they are the leaders of civilization in any communities they live in.
I am certain that the dream of our friend Dudu Tassa will be realized, but we will welcome him in Riyadh as they welcome us in Jerusalem.He visited Israel last year and tweeted this for Yom Haatzmaut:
I congratulate the Israeli society on their Independence Day and address the Arab societies on this occasion. The State of Israel is a historic right for Jews which is confirmed by heavenly books and the history of the region. In 70 years, Israel became a state of the first world and you did not escape your denial of their right to weakness and sectarian wars.It gets better:
If we want to achieve peace and create a new Middle East that fulfills the aspirations of the peoples of the region, we must address our societies courageously to recognize the historical right of Jews to their state of Israel.
Jerusalem was not the capital of any nation in history except for the Jews. Jerusalem is the door to peace for the region.
Hamid al-Hakim also supports the Trump peace plan and says that Arab societies are getting nothing by supporting Hamas and the PLO.
Needless to say, there are plenty of Arabs who are not fans of al-Hakim's philosemitism. But the fact that there is even a debate in Saudi Arabia about Israel, and about Jewish rights to Israel and Jerusalem, is something astonishing.