The diplomatic agreement announced yesterday between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is a big deal.
The normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the U.A. E. offers a rare possibility of positive change in that troubled region. It is also an achievement for President Trump, who played a major role in inking the deal. Here is how the Wall Street Journal described the U.S. ramifications:
The U.S. has been pushing for an accord between Israel and Gulf Arab nations as a way to isolate Iran and further the Trump administration’s campaign of maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic
‘Peace between the Arabs and Israelis is Iran’s worst nightmare,” said Brian Hook, the U.S. State Department’s special envoy for Iran. To help push the agreement through, the U.S. asked Israel to put on hold its earlier pledge to begin annexing parts of the West Bank.
Mr. Trump hosted a telephone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in which the deal was struck. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, one of the senior officials in charge of his Middle East policy, was also present at the White House for the announcement of the deal.
It will be called the “Abraham accord” after the biblical figure often referred to as the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Mr. Trump joked that he wanted to call the pact the “Donald J. Trump accord” but that the news media wouldn’t understand. He described the agreement on Twitter Thursday as a “HUGE breakthrough.”
You have to hand it to a guy who can crack a joke after all he’s been through.
How did the mainstream media hail this historic breakthrough engineered by a President many of them despise?
Well, let’s see.
Here are the top headlines of the top three stories in this morning’s online edition of the New York Times:
How Biden Chose Harris, A Search that Formed New Stars and Rivalries
Election Update: Trump Requests Mail-in Ballot Despite Criticism
Trump Encourages Racist Conspiracy Theory about Kamala Harris
But back to the Israel-U.A.E. deal.
Below what would be the fold in a print edition, there are two stories on the historic diplomatic breakthrough:
For Palestinians, Israel-U.A.E. Swaps One Nightmare for Another
Israeli Prime Minister Drops Troubled Annexation Plan for Diplomatic Gain
Meanwhile, Tom Friedman did write a column, most notable for its back flips to keep from praising President Trump and Jared Kushner.
The three top headlines for the Washington Post:
The Pandemic Has Reshaped Trump’s Prospects for Reelection
Trump Promotes False Claim that Harris Might Not Be a U.S. Citizen
Recession Ends for the Rich While Enduring for Everyone Else
And how did the Washington Post cover the historic agreement?
There was no news story about the diplomatic breakthrough on the front page.
Columnist David Ignatius, however, graciously acknowledged, “Trump Is Right. The Israel-U.A.E. Agreement Is a Huge Achievement,” while op-ed writer Daoud Kuttab countered with a piece headlined, “The Israel-U.A.E. Agreement Is an Insult to The Peace Palestinians and Arabs Want and Need.” Fair enough. At least, he acknowledged the existence of the deal.
Just an aside: I very much wish President Trump, when asked about it, had strongly denounced a nutty article about Harris’ eligibility to serve as President. Instead, he said he didn’t know. This was sly, and he should have been more gallant. However, it falls short of “encouraging” the dumb idea. But he should not have been coy.
If historians rely on the legacy media to tell the story of our times, future generations will be as ignorant of history as those currently tearing down statues of abolitionists today.