Former Saudi and Israeli spymasters share NYC stage

Yamanyoon- 24 Oct 2017

A few years back, the prospect of an eminent member of the Israeli political establishment sharing a stage with a Saudi Arabian counterpart in a New York synagogue would have been difficult for many to stomach.

Such events are becoming more common. On Sunday, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief appeared relaxed and chatty beside Efraim Halevy, the director of Mossad from 1998-2002, on a podium in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Al-Faisal accepted the idea that Israel and Saudi Arabia are edging towards detente, and his many references to Iran’s nuclear arms scheme and growing regional clout underscored the perceived common threat shared by both countries.

Observers at the one-day event noted how the joint public appearance of the former Saudi and Israeli intelligence chiefs showed warming ties between the two countries, while raising tough questions for Palestinians.

“No one should underestimate the ways in which the common Iranian threat and recognition that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not the destabilisation centre of gravity have changed the region,” Michael Koplow, an analyst at the Israel Policy Forum, the organiser, told Al Jazeera.

“It should not be remarkable to see former Israeli and Saudi spymasters sharing a stage, yet it is a sign of how both sides are slowly allowing what has been a behind-the-scenes relationship to emerge in small ways.”