DECEMBER 31 • 2020 | 23
people.”
When initially asked
if he was interested in
an ambassadorial post,
Rakolta told the Trump
administration he only
would consider a stimulating
assignment where his service
and personal involvement
would make a difference. A
ceremonial posting — in a
country such as Switzerland
or Iceland — wouldn’t
qualify.
To represent the U.S. in
an Arab nation or Israel,
by contrast, would demand
every bit of discretion,
energy, charm, business
experience and problem-
solving talent at his
command.
“I have a lot of Jewish
friends and a lot of Arab
friends in the Detroit area,”
he said. “I’ve always tried
to be in the middle — and
never could understand
what was preventing a
comprehensive peace.”
The long delay gaining
confirmation, Rakolta
said, came with a “silver
lining”: more than a year to
prepare. He read, studied
and attended more than a
hundred briefings about
the Middle East and related
subjects given by the State
Department, think tanks and
others.
In June of 2019, the Trump
administration announced
what became known as
“the Deal of the Century,” a
Middle East peace initiative
conceived in part by the
president’s son-in-law,
Jared Kushner. Ultimately,
Kushner’s peace proposal
was rejected by Palestinians
and some West Bank settlers.
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, who
had accepted the deal,
subsequently announced a
plan to annex portions of
the West Bank. Earlier, the
U.S. had announced the
move of the U.S. embassy
to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv,
prompting predictions of
renewed tension and possibly
violence.
Clearly, Trump and the
U.S. needed ingenuity
to reignite diplomatic
momentum.
After arriving in the
UAE in September 2019
and absorbing as much as
possible, Rakolta visited
Washington a few months
later. He reported to Trump
that the Emiratis — citizens
of the seven Gulf States
including Abu Dhabi and
Dubai — were looking to
the U.S. to restore the trust
they felt was broken when
the administration of Barack
Obama signed a nuclear
agreement with Iran.
On top of disappointment
and fear over the rising
threat from Iran, the
Emiratis hadn’t forgotten
“the Arab Spring” of political
unrest across the Arab
world that unfolded during
Obama’s term in office.
Among flare-ups in Tunisia,
Yemen, Libya, Syria and
elsewhere was the overthrow
in 2011 of Egyptian president
and longtime U.S. ally
Hosni Mubarak. Regional
leaders recoiled at the U.S.
willingness to abandon
Mubarak, despite the charge
of critics that he ruled as a
corrupt dictator during his
30 years in office.
The UAE became an
independent nation in 1971
and thus is only slightly
younger than Israel. For
years, the two nations have
maintained a muted, low-
level, informal relationship.
“Israel has technology,
which the Emiratis need to
transform their economy
away from oil,” said Rakolta.
“The UAE has lots of capital,
which the Israelis need.
Already you can see Israeli
produce in the markets here.
The hotels are full of Israeli
tourists.”
Just as the Moroccans
received U.S. support for
continued sovereignty over
Western Sahara, the Emiratis
received something they
wanted: Congressional
approval for cutting-edge
F-35 fighter jets — an
approval that would have
been more difficult if the
Israelis had objected. Also
this month, the U.S. removed
Sudan from its list of state
sponsors of terrorism, shortly
after the country agreed to
recognize Israel.
PALESTINIAN QUESTION
One fly in the ointment —
and it remains a big one — is
the politically unresolved
future of Palestinians living
in Israel’s West Bank and
Gaza.
King Salman of Saudi
Arabia — another economy
transitioning away from oil
dependence — has been
a principal sponsor of
Palestinian aspirations, while
his son and crown prince,
Mohammed bin-Salman, is
quoted saying that Israel is
entitled to exist in peace.
“I believe if you go through
the U.S. and Israel you will
find a lot of sympathy for the
Palestinians,” said Rakolta,
“There are people who are
willing to sit down and
negotiate a very favorable
deal with the Palestinians”
for statehood.
By contrast, Rakolta said,
the violence and destruction
that have characterized
conflict resolution in failed
Arab polities like Lebanon,
Gaza, Yemen and Syria —
“That’s what Iran has been
selling,” he said.
With the Biden
administration about
to replace Trump’s in
Washington, Fischer, the
founder of the Suburban
Collection of car dealerships,
and Rakolta soon will return
home. Their businesses have
been operated in the interim
by their families.
What’s next for both men?
Neither has decided. Fischer,
whose friendships and
appreciation for the Jewish
state and its supporters date
back “decades,” will fly to
Israel and dedicate a forest
near Jerusalem with David
Friedman, U.S. ambassador
to Israel.
Whatever the next chapter
looks like for each ambas-
sador, neither is likely to
compare in momentousness
with a hands-on, successful
pursuit of Middle East peace
— a chance to play a role in
history — on behalf of the
nation.
“WE DIDN’T COME HERE
EXPECTING TO PARTICIPATE
IN A PEACE PROCESS.”
— DAVID FISCHER