Riding the success of the Abraham Accords, Israel sets its sights on Pakistan | The New Arab - Richard Silverstein |

A visit by a Pakistani-American interfaith group to Israel has sparked outrage in Pakistan, but behind the veneer of "dialogue", the group's leader, Anila Ali, has promoted Islamophobic views, writes Richard Silverstein.

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the Abraham Accords agreement between Israel and and the United Arab Emirates to normalise diplomatic relations, in Karachi on August 16, 2020. [Getty]

Last week, a Pakistani-American delegation arrived in Israel, perhaps for the first time ever. Israelis lionised the visitors. They viewed it as yet another sign that the normalisation process set in motion by the Abraham Accords was succeeding. Arab states appeared to be falling like dominos in the face of the Israeli charm offensive, and now there was a possibility that Pakistan could be next.

The guests met with the President. They visited the Kotel and Haram al-Sharif. They spoke effusively of brotherhood between Pakistan and Israel. Their tour guides were purportedly both Jewish and Palestinian.

Initial reports in Israeli media were short on facts and long on self-congratulation. But a subsequent report on NPR filled in some details. It noted that the trip organiser was a Pakistani-American, Anila Ali, an Orange County (CA) schoolteacher.