Right before he boarded the plane that would take him to Jordan and from there to Baghdad, the Iraqi public figure swore that this would be his last visit to Israel. The guest, a well-known personality in his homeland, had spent a few days in Israel on a secret visit in fall 2009. Although the Israeli government knew about his trip, not a single government representative found the time to meet with him or even call him. He heard from no one at the Ministry of Defense, and no one from the Foreign Ministry either. His visit was a rare opportunity, but it was squandered. “Israel and Iraq are two key players in the Middle East,” he told an Israeli friend on his way to Ben Gurion Airport. “We have the capacity to benefit from each other. I reached out to you, but no one took my hand.”
The late Foreign Minister Abba Eban famously said that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. It sometimes seems as if Israel has contracted the affliction from its neighbors. The upheaval being experienced by the Arab states offers Israel numerous opportunities, including a chance to make contact with individuals and groups that have been inaccessible until now. There is more than one such address in Iraq, but Israel is too self-involved right now and refuses to initiate anything or even accept an outstretched hand.
Linda Menuhin, an Israeli born in Iraq, is trying to bring these two poles together in her own backyard, so to speak. A journalist and commentator on Arab affairs, Menuhin has been hired as a digital consultant by Israel’s Foreign Ministry. In the past, she worked in radio and television for the Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Arabic-language division. Menuhin told Al-Monitor, “I am conducting a lively dialogue with Iraqi and Arab friends on Facebook, and I’m trying to use my status as an Iraqi to explain Israel’s positions.” She is not alone.
Over the past few years, Israel Prize recipient professor Shmuel Moreh (Muallem), who studies Arabic literature, has managed to develop close ties with Iraqi intellectuals in Iraq and elsewhere. The same is true of the poet Ronny Someck, who meets frequently with Iraqi artists in exile in Europe. Others, like the London-based peace activist David Sasson, maintain close ties with government representatives in Baghdad and Kurdistan.
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