Israel might not have a peace deal with Saudi Arabia, but it sure seems close enough

The Arab world is upset that a Saudi judoka Tahani Alqahtani competed against Israeli Raz Hershko at the Tokyo Olympics last week, and that the two competitors even embraced.

This cartoon at Shehab News characterizes the Alqahtani as a surrendered loser, while the Algerian and Sudanese athletes who refused to compete against Israelis - and forfeited - are considered victors and heroes.

Yet all the cartoons in the world cannot stop the cooperation that Israel and Saudi Arabia have been exhibiting quite publicly.

On Tuesday, Google is announcing a massive fiber optic cable system that will go from Italy, underwater to Israel, and from there overland to the Red Sea and to Saudi Arabia, eventually reaching Oman and India. 

It is significant that the cable will connect Saudi Arabia and Israel directly, bypassing Jordan - which is already at peace with Israel and which would have been the logical Israeli partner only a year ago. However, realistically speaking, an optic cable line overland in Jordan would be more vulnerable to attack by irate Israel-hating Arabs than a direct underwater cable from Israel to Saudi Arabia.

This is a much bigger deal than a judo match. It shows that the Arab boycott of Israel is effectively dead. The center of Sunni Islam is no longer treating Israel as an enemy. 

It is ironic that at the same time Israel has the best relations it has ever had with its sworn enemies, organizations that pretend to care about peace and human rights are increasing their attacks on Israel. Apparently, when the Jewish state moves toward peace, peace is no longer considered a virtue. 

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