Arab leaders should start talking to the Israeli media to better communicate their bid for a lasting Middle East peace, Bahrain's crown prince said on Friday. "We as Arabs have not done enough to communicate directly with the people of Israel," Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa wrote in an opinion article published in the Washington Post.
According to Al Khalifa, Arab leaders must "tell our story more directly to the Israeli people by getting the message out to their media" and highlighting support for the Arab Initiative. "Essentially, we have not done a good enough job demonstrating to Israelis how our initiative can form part of a peace between equals in a trouble land holy to three great faiths," he wrote.
On Friday, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley described Al Khalifa's call for more engagement as "a very, very welcome step." "These are important gestures," he said, according to AFP.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
