The peace or ‘normalization’ agreements signed by Israel with different Arab countries can easily be split into two categories; the countries that did so as part of the Abraham Accords and those who signed separate agreements back in the 20th century, Egypt and Jordan to be specific. While all the accords signed between Israel and its neighbors rely heavily on joint regional economic understandings more than anything, it seems the older accords with Egypt and the Hashemite kingdom are lacking in the prized Arab hospitality, or really any common decency that is typical between allies. The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and even the Saudi government which has yet to sign any normalization deal have been going to great lengths to stem Jew and Zionist hatred within their populations, and meanwhile, Egyptian and Jordanian officials still address their people as if they’re at war with the State of Israel.

Just over a week ago, on a quiet Saturday morning, an Egyptian policeman, Muhammad Salah, who was guarding the border with Israel sneaked into the Israeli side of the fence and killed three Israel Defense Forces soldiers. Behind the scenes, Egyptian officials sent letters to the bereaved Israeli families to sympathize and have also been fully cooperative in the joint investigation, but in public, especially in front of Egyptian crowds, they have portrayed the terrorist within their ranks as a martyr. 

Israel was able to prevent the condolence of the martyr Muhammad Salah in liberated Egypt,

But Israel was unable to prevent the condolence of the heroic martyr in occupied Palestine!

I really don't know which is the occupieted country and who is the liberated one ✌️🇵🇸✌️🇵🇸✌️🫵 pic.twitter.com/bTDk1LR8Cr

— Free Palestine كاشور (@monan_free) June 6, 2023

Contrary to the IDF's statement, the spokesman of the Egyptian Army did not define the incident as terrorism. In a post published on various social media accounts it was stated that a member of the Egyptian security forces was busy chasing drug dealers, crossing the border, and during the exchange of fire, "three Israeli security personnel" and the policeman himself were killed. The public statement was effectively a complete denial of the Israeli version. After the official statements, residents of the terrorist's hometown were questioned by journalists on the matter. The locals' general opinion was summarized in the words of one who said: "The death of the martyred hero should be celebrated. If he had more ammunition with him, he would have killed more. The son of Ein Shams [the name of the town], we are all proud of you, you are the true definition of Arab pride.”

Meanwhile in Jordan, many joined the celebrations around the ‘martyrdom’ of Muhammad Salah, including a Jordanian Arab Parliament member who said “We salute Egypt, and its martyr, Muhammad Salah. I will ask the honorable council that we stand for the reading of the 'Fatah for the souls of the martyrs' of the Arab and Islamic nation, who died martyrs for Palestine.” In addition, the Hashemite Kingdom’s people showed their strong antisemitism in a different way last week, by denying border passage to Israelis attending a conference who were wearing traditional Jewish wear, such as a yarmulke and tzitzit. One of the Israelis trying to attend the conference in Jordan said "When we passed through the hall of the screening machines, we were required to take off our hats. Then the inspector saw the caps on our heads, there were religious and ultra-Orthodox people among us. As soon as the inspector realized that these were religious people, he demanded that we lift our shirts. Anyone with tzitzit, he demanded they take them off immediately."

EGYPTIAN TERRORIST A HERO IN THE STREETS AS EGYPT FAILS TO CONDEMN / Follow @jewdefense / After last week's savage terrorist attack, the priority for Israel must be to head off any copycats trying to turn this massacre into a terror wave. /1 pic.twitter.com/IctkkcstYq

— Rabbi Shmuley (@RabbiShmuley) June 6, 2023

In complete contrast to the civil and military disobedience in Jordan and Egypt to the long-standing peace agreements with Israel, the rest of the Arab peninsula, including kingdoms that have no official ties with the Zionist nation, have been going through great efforts in all aspects to ensure Jews and Israelis feel safe and welcome on their streets. While most Jews and Israeli delegations who have recently visited Dubai, Marrakech, and Manama can attest to the great and honest warm welcome they received, even Saudi Arabia has changed its educational programs in elementary schools to include less bias towards the State of Israel and Jews. This hospitality and warmth are felt even more by Arabs from those countries visiting Israel, with most of the locals in the Jewish state genuinely happy to finally not be completely isolated in the Middle East.

Surely not all residents of the stated countries in the latter feel loving to Israelis or Jews in their private lives, but the general public understanding is that these new visitors are guests and not an enemy, therefore deserving of fair treatment and basic mutual respect at the very least. 

Unfortunately, #Palestinian organizations on social media did their best to undermine the Egyptian government's attempts to present Muhammad Salah Ibrahim for what he truly is; a rogue terrorist and a disturbance to the peace treaty.https://t.co/ZyZjg8HHdf

— The Judean (@TheJudean) June 6, 2023

Perhaps the leaders of the Abraham Accords kingdoms understand something the Jordanians and Egyptians have failed to internalize; peace and normalization are not simply agreeing to not launch planned military attacks on each other and silently cooperating with each other. Peace is also in regard to how the public is educated on the other. For example, while Americans born after WW2 hold little to no prejudice or grudges towards the German people, Jordanian and Egyptian children are still taught to despise the Zionists and their ‘occupying forces.'

The safety and welcome of each side in the opposite country is the true essence and beauty of peace; and while the rest of the Arab world adopts this understanding, Israel’s oldest allies in the Arab world, Egypt and Jordan, still have a long way to go.