Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain given ‘Friends of Zion’ award

The founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Centre in Jerusalem announced on Sunday that eleven world leaders have been given the Friends of Zion Award, Al-Quds Al-Araby and news agencies have reported.

Among those given the award are the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, as well as Morocco and Oman.

Mike Evans made the announcement during the Israeli government’s 4th Annual Christian Media Summit in Jerusalem. The award is given to people adjudged to have helped Jews and Israel. The online event was seen by millions of viewers all around the world. Speakers included US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

“There is a universal benefit for people to make peace with each other,” said Friedman. “It is perhaps the highest form of human relations, to live together in peace.”

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According to Evans, “All the nominees will move their embassies to Jerusalem and all the Muslim leaders will make peace with Israel in time.”

He has apparently met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh. “There is no doubt in my mind [that Bin Salman] is quietly driving the amazing peace initiatives in the Gulf region,” he explained. “[He] told our group that the Palestinians can solve their problem by copying Israel. He also said educating children to hate Jews must stop, and that the world has zero tolerance for terror being used to achieve political objectives.”

Evans added that he had met with over 70 world leaders and found that “the brightest, most articulate and most forward thinking leader is Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.”

Associated Press reported that the recipients of the Friends of Zion award this year are: King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain; King Mohammed VI of Morocco; Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates; Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia; Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq of Oman; President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia; President Klaus Iohannis of Romania; President Mario Abdo Benítez of Paraguay; President of Miloš Zeman of the Czech Republic; President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda; and President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi.

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