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A BRIEF DIPLOMATIC CONVERSATION ATTRACTS CONTROVERSY
- jakefarrella
- Nov 10, 2022
- 2 min read
Israeli president Isaac Herzog (left) in a video sharing a joke with Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden at the COP27 Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
By Jake Austin, 10 November 2022
It may seem minor, but any interaction between officials of different nations represents the meeting of both nations and cannot escape greater context. Tunisia has stated officially that they have no intention to normalize relations with the Israeli government due to the segregation of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank, yet the Tunisian PM was pictured smiling and laughing with her counterpart, Israeli president Isaac Herzog. The world leaders were grouped close for a picture at the United Nations Climate Summit hosted in Egypt.
The video and screenshots from the brief encounter ignited anger from Arabic social media, with users criticizing Bouden for her behavior. Tunisian, Lebanese, and Algerian newspapers published stories wondering about how far the interaction went and wondering if Bouden would be punished at home. "This friendly conversation between Najla Boden [and Israeli President] is the most shameful thing authorities did in the last decade", stated a Tunisian activist group. On the other side, some Israeli social media users wondered if normalization of relations was closer after the exchange. That would certainly be in line with Herzog's COP27 speech, where he declared that climate cooperation also needed political cooperation in the Middle East.
We at ONE wanted to highlight this small incident because it's a clear example of the attitudes that prevent long-term peacebuilding. Any realistic solution to issues like climate change and the horrible conditions in the West Bank will need to involve the Israeli government. Leaders should open conversation, and even a joke can go a long way to defrost relations. Peace and quality of life may depend on an unlikely friendship between two leaders that can advocate change at home. The brief interaction was likely small, but the regional reaction was very informative.
Thank you for reading!
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