MembersWhat the World Dismisses as Israeli Posturing, the Arabs Accept as Truth

“Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has not put into question Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] commitments, meaning post-2015 nuclear commitments,” insisted EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. She was referring to Netanyahu’s presentation of 55,000 documents and 183 CDs smuggled out of Iran by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. But, while the Europeans didn’t appreciate this significant act of espionage, the Arab world did. Behind the scenes, Sunni governments fully backed the Israeli mission, and on Arabic-language social media Israel was openly praised for exposing the Iranian threat.

“The Arab states were amused by Israel’s success and praised Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Middle East expert Zvi Yehezkeli said on Israel’s Channel 10 News. “Israel is perceived as a superpower in the Arab world. Our Arab neighbors said in a number of television programs that they can only truly trust Israel. Even the Saudis publicly admit that Israel will one day come to their aid. In the eyes of our neighbors, we are a villa...