Toronto (August 13, 2020) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) congratulated both the United Arab Emirates and Israel's ambassadors to Canada on today's announced historic peace deal to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE.

In a letter to UAE Ambassador Fahad Al Raqbani and Israeli Ambassador Nimrod Barkan, Simon Wiesenthal Center Executive Director Rabbi Meyer May and FSWC Chair Fred Waks stated, "The Abraham Accords agreement is a momentous step forward in the process of normalization of relations between Jews and Arabs and in ensuring security and peace for the UAE, Israel and neighbouring countries in the Middle East. We are hopeful that this new agreement will usher in a new era of cooperation between Israel and other Arab states, and that it will serve as an important signal to the world that despite efforts by Palestinian leaders to derail regional unity with violence and terrorism, peaceful coexistence in the Middle East is possible and in fact well within reach."

The peace deal was announced earlier today by US President Donald Trump who said the two countries agreed to a normalization of relations during his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. As part of the peace deal, Israel has agreed to "suspend declaring sovereignty" over areas of the West Bank, according to a joint statement between the US, UAE and Israel.

The UAE is the third Arab country to normalize relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.

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