With the participation of the UAE and Bahrain, Kushner launches a foundation to encourage normalization with Israel

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, is working to launch a new institution to encourage normalization between Arab countries and Israel, with the participation of the UAE and Bahrain ambassadors in Washington.

Kushner began the steps of establishing the “Institute of Abraham Accords for Peace”, in order to work to deepen the normalization agreements that Israel reached last year with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

The US news site Axios said on Wednesday that the foundation, which will bear the name of the “Abraham Peace Accords Institute,” will be non-partisan and non-profit and will be funded through private donations.

He did not specify the headquarters of this institution, or the official date to start its work.

The website confirmed that in addition to Kushner, the foundation’s board of directors will include former US envoy Avi Berkowitz, Israeli-American businessman Haim Saban, Emirati ambassador to Washington Yusef Al-Otaiba, Bahraini ambassador to Washington Abdullah Rashid Al Khalifa, and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

The site stressed that the council is still under formation, and it is expected to include representatives of Morocco and Sudan.

The American website stated that the Foundation will focus on increasing trade and tourism between the five signatories of the Abraham Agreements (Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan), and developing programs to strengthen relations between peoples.

He added that the foundation will also provide an analysis of the benefits of normalization and the potential benefits that additional Arab countries could get, if they join the agreement.

The US news site pointed out that the Foundation’s executive director will be Rob Greenway, who was formerly Donald Trump’s chief Middle East advisor at the National Security Council.