Today, God willing, we will see Prime Minister Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain shaking hands at the White House, solemnizing their landmark peace deal alongside its broker, President Donald Trump.
Today will be glorious, historic—a day of high rhetoric, large personalities and splashy headlines.
But the road to this White House ceremony was paved by a very different kind of people, who made history in a very different way.
These delegates—senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, U.S. envoy to Israel David Friedman and Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi (“Avraham”) Berkowitz on the U.S. side, and Mossad head Yossi Cohen, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer and Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat on the Israeli side—are the quiet men of diplomacy.
For years, with supreme discretion and seriousness, they shuttled to distant lands and tirelessly worked their telephones at all hours, sweating out the details of this peace deal. If the White House ceremony is to be the crowning moment, then they are the ones who crafted the crown.
Today, then, is a day on which we should commend these public servants—their tireless work and their refusal to take personal credit.
They are an inspiration in their dedication and discretion, especially at a time when all too many senior government officials end up turning against the elected leaders they once served.
Bless you, gentlemen! And thank you. You have earned your place in history … though you never asked for it.
Dr. Miriam Adelson, M.D., is a specialist in chemical dependency and drug addiction. She is the publisher of “Israel Hayom” and, with her husband, Sheldon Adelson, the owner of “Israel Hayom” and the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspapers.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
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