Saudi Arabia’s Ugly Pivot Against Israel

 by Dinah Bucholz

Before the war in Gaza, relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel had taken a hopeful turn, as the prospect of the Arab state joining the Abraham Accords appeared to be approaching reality. 

But the Oct. 7 attack derailed that plan, which appeared to serve one of Hamas’s goals of starting the war. Still, even during the war, there was hope that Saudi Arabia would continue to soften its stance and normalize relations with Israel.

But tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have since escalated. The two countries had long enjoyed warm relations and a strong strategic partnership, but differences regarding Yemen have turned into an emerging rivalry amid increasing hostility, with Saudi Arabia demanding that the UAE withdraw from parts of Yemen, while drawing closer to Turkey and Qatar, both hostile to Israel.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia started to jack up its anti-Israel rhetoric, including anti-Jewish conspiracies, on its state-run media and its local Al-Jazeera station, as the hope for normalization with Israel receded in the rear-view mirror.

This calls into question the wisdom of the November 18 meeting between President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (also known as MBS) about the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. It also raises doubts about the reliability of Saudi Arabia as a U.S. ally, even as Trump continues to maintain a positive and warm relationship with MBS, who serves as the country’s prime minister.

Jewish groups are raising the alarm. In a statement posted on X, the Anti-Defamation League wrote, “ADL is alarmed by the increasing frequency and volume of prominent Saudi voices — analysts, journalists, and preachers — using openly antisemitic dog whistles and aggressively pushing anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric, often while peddling conspiracy theories about ‘Zionist plots.’ This is harmful on many levels, diminishing the prospect of peaceful coexistence in the region and weakening regional initiatives promoting tolerance, understanding, and prosperity.”

AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group, cited an X post by a prominent Israeli journalist who works for Axios, Barak Ravid. He wrote that “as part of Saudi Arabia’s information war against the UAE, the Saudi press is full of articles that include anti-Israeli conspiracies, anti-Abraham Accords rhetoric and even antisemitic language … It is clear this is coming from the top.”

Some regional experts have connected Saudi Arabia’s turn away from moderation with not only the war in Gaza, but also the the unrest in Iran and even, inexplicably, Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an official state. However, others point to the friendly relations the United States maintains with Turkey and Qatar, arguing that those countries have learned that their extremist rhetoric on Israel and the Jews has no bearing on their relationship with the U.S.

“It sends a signal to the Saudis that you could take more Islamist positions, and it won’t hurt you with the United States,” said Michael Makovsky, the president and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

“I think the administration needs to step back and reflect on the fact that, if the Saudis are acting like this now, and they’ve been more of a moderating influence,” he said, “it should lead to a rethink of how they’re approaching all these other countries.”

Unfortunately, although the U.S. has aimed to push Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords, Makovsky said that he has not seen any shift in the perception that the U.S. needs to rethink its approach to ensure that its relationship with Saudi Arabia supports U.S. objectives.