B’nai B’rith strongly commends Oman, following a similar decision by Saudi Arabia last year, to open its airspace to all civilian airlines. The move would include Israeli carriers and is expected to substantially ease travel between Israel and flight destinations east of it.

A B’nai B’rith International professional and lay delegation, led by CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, made a working visit to Oman this month, continuing ongoing outreach to diverse Middle Eastern countries—both those with existing formal relations with Israel and others with potential to ultimately develop such ties.

In meetings in Muscat, the Gulf sultanate’s capital, with senior officials in and outside government, regional peace and security issues were discussed—including overflight permission—as well as bilateral relations with the United States and interreligious engagement.

Oman’s relationship with the U.S. dates back to 1833, and the sultanate and the Jewish state had briefly established reciprocal trade representative offices in the 1990s. Oman sits in a strategically important and complex location, opposite Iran on the southeast edge of the Arabian Peninsula. The visit was organized as part of a series coordinated by Mariaschin and B’nai B’rith Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels.

B’nai B’rith continues to actively promote the expansion and deepening of peace and partnership between Israel and all of its neighbors—including the initial signatories of the 2020 Abraham Accords, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which B’nai B’rith representatives have visited on multiple occasions.