Young Diplomats and the Future of the Abraham Accords

By Yair Oded

In the summer of 2020, the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East shifted dramatically. With the signing of the Abraham Accords, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain formally normalized relations with Israel, followed shortly by Morocco and Sudan. Hailed by many as a breakthrough in Arab-Israeli diplomacy, the Accords were brokered by the United States and framed as a path to regional peace, economic growth, and technological exchange.

But four years on, the sustainability and evolution of these agreements may rest not only in the hands of diplomats and policymakers—but in the fresh perspectives and lived experiences of young people from the nations involved.

A New Generation, A New Mandate

Young people across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have grown up in a region shaped by polarization and geopolitical fault lines. For decades, Israel’s relationships with many Arab nations were defined by silence, suspicion, or outright hostility. Except for Egypt and Jordan, most countries in the region had no formal diplomatic ties with Israel—let alone people-to-people contact. Many youth came of age without ever meeting someone from across the divide.

For them, the Abraham Accords are more than an elite diplomatic milestone—they represent an invitation to reimagine the future of intercommunal relationships. Since the agreements were signed in 2020 between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, nearly 500,000 Israelis have visited the UAE—a surge of travel that would have once been unthinkable. Direct flights now link Tel Aviv to Abu Dhabi and Casablanca. Trade between Israel and the UAE alone exceeded $2.5 billion in 2022, and collaborations in fields ranging from agriculture to cybersecurity have gained traction.

Yet despite these developments, true normalization demands more than memoranda and trade figures. It requires cultural familiarity, mutual trust, and shared narratives—areas where youth-led diplomacy and civil society initiatives are uniquely positioned to make a difference.

Where Policy Meets People

In Morocco, grassroots projects like the Mimouna Association have long worked to preserve Jewish heritage and foster intercultural dialogue between Muslims and Jews. Since the signing of the Accords, such initiatives have gained renewed relevance as they provide platforms where youth can engage with the cultural and historical layers that underpin Moroccan-Israeli ties.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Emirati students are beginning to connect through academic exchanges and dialogue initiatives. In 2023, a delegation of Israeli university students participated in a joint seminar in Abu Dhabi on innovation and diplomacy, co-hosted by local institutions and Israeli think tanks. These exchanges are more than symbolic; they seed the kind of informal diplomacy that shapes long-term peacebuilding.

Programs like Sharaka, a Gulf-Israeli NGO founded after the Abraham Accords, are tapping into the power of young influencers, journalists, and social entrepreneurs from the region. Through educational trips and cross-border collaborations, Sharaka promotes a people-to-people peace that extends beyond governments and policy summits.

Digital Diplomacy: The Role of Social Media

In an age where TikTok trends move faster than diplomatic cables, social media has become an unexpected but powerful frontier for peacebuilding. For Gen Z across the MENA region, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and X are not just spaces for entertainment—they’re arenas where identity, politics, and cross-cultural curiosity collide.

Since the signing of the Abraham Accords, there has been a noticeable uptick in content that bridges Israeli and Arab youth cultures. Emirati influencers have documented their experiences visiting Israel, including falafel taste tests in Tel Aviv, while Israeli travelers have posted about their trips to Dubai and the warmth of Emirati hospitality. Hashtags like #IsraelUAE, #AbrahamAccords, and #MoroccoIsrael have become digital meeting points, while joint livestreams, Q&As, and vlogs documenting cross-border friendships have helped humanize a process often dominated by political abstraction and enmity.

But this digital diplomacy isn’t all kumbaya. Criticism has been swift and creative—viral memes mocking “normalization selfies,” satirical reels calling out perceived hypocrisy, and hashtags like #Palestine_Charter have pushed back against the optics of rapid rapprochement. These tensions are part of the conversation. They reveal how young people are no longer passive consumers of state-driven narratives—they’re remixing them, challenging them, and in some cases, reshaping them entirely.

The Risks of a Fragile Peace

While the promise of the Accords is real, the geopolitical context remains volatile. The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to shape public opinion in the Arab world. Young people, in particular, are attuned to these contradictions. Polls conducted in countries like Bahrain and Morocco show that while official relations have warmed, public skepticism remains high.

Here lies a critical task for young diplomats and civil society leaders: to engage with the complexities rather than avoid them. Cross-cultural dialogue must leave space for difficult conversations about identity, justice, violence, and historical trauma. Otherwise, normalization risks becoming transactional rather than transformational.

Planting Seeds, Building Bridges

One promising example of youth-led diplomacy in action is the newly launched initiative The Abraham Bridge Initiative (TABI). Supported by the Shimon Peres Fellowship and an expanding circle of academics and diplomats, TABI brings together young adults from Israel and Abraham Accords countries for dialogue-driven workshops and collaborative projects. While still in its early stages, the initiative reflects a growing awareness that regional cooperation must include the voices and vision of younger generations.

TABI is not alone. Across the region, young people are organizing, connecting, and learning together—often through digital platforms and storytelling projects that transcend borders. Their work challenges the idea that diplomacy must remain the domain of government elites. It suggests that peace can also be woven from the bottom up, through the slow, patient work of relationship-building.

Why It Matters Now

In a world increasingly defined by division, polarization, and algorithm-driven echo chambers, the Abraham Accords represent a rare and tangible opportunity to chart a different course. But whether they will lead to a more integrated, peaceful Middle East depends not only on political will but on cultural exchange, empathy, and youth engagement.

The future of diplomacy won’t just be negotiated in meeting rooms or inked on treaty paper. It will unfold in WhatsApp chats, classroom debates, joint ventures, and personal friendships formed across borders. If the Abraham Accords are to live up to their name, they must empower the next generation to carry the spirit of bridge-building forward—long after the headlines fade.