WJC President Ronald Lauder proposes to create an Middle East analogue of NATO
NATO was founded in 1949 to counter the Soviet threat and coped with its task effectively. President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder worked at the Pentagon in the 1980s, was the US Ambassador to Austria and saw at first hand the effectiveness of such interstate alliances.
Today Ronald Lauder proposes to create an analogue of NATO, but in the Middle East region. Middle East Defense Organization (MEDO) — such a name may be given to the Middle East analogue of NATO, and, according to Lauder, there are all the prerequisites for this, and most importantly, the readiness of the countries of the region to unite to ensure the security. In this case, we are talking about the Arab-Israeli alliance.
According to Lauder, the success of last year’s Abraham Accords, upon which the list of countries in the Arab world that have established relations with Israel, has significantly expanded, inspires hope for the success of the planned alliance. Only last year, after a long confrontation, agreements were signed between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. They joined Egypt, which was the first to renew relations with Israel in 1979, and Jordan, which did so in 1994.
Ronald Lauder’s numerous contacts with representatives of other countries of the Arab world confirm that a turning point has come in the Arab-Israeli relations, and most countries are ready to put an end to almost one hundred years of confrontation. The WJC President predicts that Greece and Cyprus may also join MEDO in the future.
