A Remarkable Shift

 By Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian

Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, there has been a remarkable shift in Israel’s relations with the Muslim world. New reports have emerged of the possibility of further breakthroughs in diplomatic ties with former foes like Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, and Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country.

Another large Muslim nation that observers see the possibility of normalization is Bangladesh. There have been reports of unofficial economic and military cooperation, and Dhaka also dropped a key travel restriction to Israel last year.

Older Bangladeshi passports used to bear the sentence “This passport is valid for all the countries of the world except Israel.” But when the South Asian country rolled out its new e-passport, the “except Israel” phrase was removed without any public announcement. Bangladeshi nationals can now travel to Israel from a third country if they can obtain a visa.

Bangladesh has purchased Israeli military-grade technology, and the World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) database showed that between 2010 and 2018, Israel imported products worth around $333.74 million that originated from Bangladesh.

Israel was an early supporter of Bangladesh during its war of independence from West Pakistan in the early 1970s and was one of the first nations to recognize independent Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the country’s original leaders shunned Israel in favor of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who had sided with Pakistan.

“In ’71, in the most difficult time of our lives, we received an offer from Israel for recognition. We appreciated the offer, we kindly told you, ‘Thank you so much, it is OK, our patron India is with us, the Soviet Union is with us.’ Our people don’t forget, though,” former Bangladesh foreign affairs minister and long-time diplomat Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, has stated.

Choudhury faced charges of sedition, treason, blasphemy and espionage in part for attempting to attend a conference of the Hebrew Writers’ Association in Tel Aviv in 2004. He was beaten, jailed in solitary confinement for 17 months and denied medical treatment, before being released on bail with the help of an American congressman, though the charges against him are still pending.

Choudhury noted that Bangladesh’s first foreign minister, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, was responsible for turning Israel away. Ahmad later took part in a conspiracy leading to the assassination of Bangladesh’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in 1975 with Ahmad immediately taking control of the government and declaring himself president.

“The man responsible for our country’s original anti-Israel standing was himself an enemy of the state. We have had relations with Pakistan for nearly a half-century -- a country responsible for the killing of three million of our people. But no official relations with Israel. It makes no sense,” said Choudhury.

However, one of Bangladesh’s most revered war heroes was Jewish. Lt. Gen. Jack Farj Rafael Jacob, an officer in the Indian army, played a crucial role in negotiating the surrender of Pakistan in Dhaka during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

His death was publicly mourned by high-level officials, and he was previously bestowed with the “Friend of Liberation War Honour” award. Louis Isadore Kahn, a Jewish Estonian-born American architect, designed Bangladesh’s National Assembly parliament building, an extraordinary example of modern architecture.

Bangladesh’s rapid development has not gone unnoticed by Israeli officials, who publicly welcomed the removal of Israel’s printed exclusion on Bangladesh passports and have openly called for warmer ties over the years. Bangladesh is experiencing a GDP growth of 7.9 per cent, with a $409 billion economy, and its government structure is quite inclusive. Women have led the country for nearly all of the last 20 years, and the current prime minister, parliament speaker, and opposition leader are women.

Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of Mission of the Israeli Consulate in Dubai, recently became the highest-ranking Israeli official to give an interview to a Bangladesh media outlet, telling the Weekly Blitz that “Bangladesh could be a very important partner for us. Bangladesh has centers of innovation, a big population, resources.”

Israel is waiting for partnerships with Bangladeshi researchers, universities, and “everybody in the region would benefit from this relationship,” intimating that mutual ally India could play a critical role in bringing Israel and Bangladesh together.