“May it be a blessed year for realizing peace and stability in the region,” wrote Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani in response to his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, who had sent a Rosh Hashanah blessing on the eve of the Jewish new year, 5781.

In personal Rosh Hashanah message to both al-Zayani and to Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan respectively, Ashkenazi said: “My dear friend, on the eve of the new year on the Jewish calendar, I would like to wish you and your people a year full of peace, prosperity, stability and health! Happy New Year!”

Al-Zayani responded, saying, “Thank you my dear friend Gabi Ashkenazi, the foreign minister of the State of Israel, for the [Rosh Hashanah] blessing… May it be a blessed year of realizing peace and stability in the region.”

Al-Nahyan, the Emirati foreign minister, replied, ”Happy Rosh Hashanah, dear Gabi. This is a wonderful way to start the year and I hope this is a good sign for both of us in the region.”

On social media, too, Emirati citizens wished Israelis a happy new year. One twitter account managed in Hebrew said: “Happy new year to the Jews. May this year be the beginning of the new relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.”