US President's Senior Adviser Gives Torah To King Of Bahrain

Submission of the Torah from Jared Kushner to the King of Bahrain (Twitter / @ aviberkow45)

JAKARTA - White House special representative Avi Berkowitz released a photo showing a senior adviser to the President of the United States (US), Jared Kushner presenting the Torah scroll to the King of Bahrain. Kushner gave King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa the scroll during a visit to Bahrain in early September.

During the visit, Kushner encouraged the Gulf state to normalize relations with Israel, weeks after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it would do so. Trump then announced that Bahrain would follow in the UAE's footsteps and establish diplomatic relations with Israel on Saturday, September 12.

Berkowitz posted a photo on Twitter as representatives from Israel, UAE and Bahrain prepare for a signing ceremony at the White House. Launching The Time of Israel, Tuesday, September 15, the Torah scroll given to the king "was written in his honor," said Kushner.

The Torah will be used in synagogues in Bahrain, according to Berkowitz. News site Axios reports that Kushner, who is also Trump's son-in-law, bought the Torah from his personal money. The Trump administration, represented by Kushner and Berkowitz, brokered diplomatic breakthroughs between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain. Berkowitz becomes the White House's special representative for international negotiations.

The ceremony for signing the normalization of relations between Israel, the UAE and Bahrain will be held on Tuesday, September 15 evening local time. The signing ceremony will take place in the southern courtyard of the White House. Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu will represent Israel at the event. Meanwhile, the UAE and Bahrain will be represented by their respective foreign ministers.

Meanwhile, the text of the agreement has not been released. An Israeli official said Netanyahu would sign a "peace agreement" with the UAE and a separate "peace declaration" with Bahrain.

The first thing to do is an agreement with international legal standing, which the Israeli legislature must approve. Meanwhile, the second is only a joint statement supporting a commitment to peace. The official declined to say whether the agreement would include Israel's commitment to Palestine or not.

The normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE was announced on August 13 by Trump. According to the US, UAE and Bahrain governments in a joint statement, the agreement resulted in the UAE establishing full ties with Israel.

Meanwhile, Bahrain is home to a small Jewish community. Its people have long been tolerant of all religions. However, until recently there was no Jewish public life in the country. Jews, most of whom come from Iraq, have been in the country since the 1880s.

At its heyday, the Jewish community numbered about 1,500 members. However, in 1947, following a United Nations (UN) resolution proposing the creation of a Jewish state, the synagogue was torn apart and the community began to shrink. The synagogue in Bahrain was renovated in the 1990s, but currently only 34 Jews remain in Bahrain.