Jews in Britain and the rest of the diaspora have a “duty” to invest in countries that have signed the Abraham Accords with Israel to boost popular support for them across the Middle East, the philanthropist Bobby Rechnitz has told the JC.

Speaking from his base in Los Angeles in advance of the visit to Britain of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, Rechnitz said that when “people invest in each other and foster mutual prosperity, this forges much stronger and longer-lasting bonds than those created by politicians”.

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Benjamin Netanyahu (Flash 90)

He said he gave “full credit” to those who negotiated the Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain.

But the time had now come for business leaders to “fill in the gaps” left by the politicians. This, Rechnitz said, would give the rulers who had signed the Accords “something to show to their own people”: the benefits to be gained from new high-quality businesses and advanced technology from Israel and companies run by diaspora Jews.

In time, he went on, this would ensure that the “normalisation” of relations between Israel and Arab states became institutionalised: “When this works for both sides, it will help to ensure that the Palestinian issue no longer gets in the way.”

Such ties, Rechnitz said, would thus strengthen Israel’s security, by “adding value to the citizens of Arab states”.

He too is in London this week, and he told the JC he wanted to “reach out to Jewish citizens of the UK” in order to convey this message to them. London, with its substantial Gulf Arab presence, was “a wonderful place to start” business projects of the type he described.

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The flag of United Arab Emirates outside the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, (Getty Images)

“It’s our duty as Jewish citizens of the world to make these investments and forge these links,” he said.

Rechnitz is known to be close to Netanyahu. He founded the Bomel Group, real-estate developers active in both America and Israel, and has long been seen as an important “goodwill ambassador” for Israel, dedicating time and resources to enhancing bilateral ties with the US.

He co-chaIred the committee that secured a Congressional Medal of Honour for former Israeli prime minister and president Shimon Peres, which required a two-thirds majority in Congress before being signed into law by President Obama.

Rechnitz said he remained hopeful that Saudi Arabia might soon join the Abraham Accords, despite its recent partial rapprochement with Israel’s sworn enemy, Iran. The two countries resumed diplomatic relations after a long freeze in a deal brokered by China this month.

“My experience of the Saudi people suggests they have a very strong interest in becoming the next signatory to the Accords,” Rechnitz told the JC.

He said that while the Accords could bring great economic benefits, his interest was “primarily political. We have to give direction to citizens, to business people, and say, ‘We want peace, prosperity and a successful family life, just like you.’”

That, he concluded, would “take the pressure off” the Arab rulers who had signed the Accords from their own populations that had previously been hostile to the Jewish state.