The first commercial flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates touched down in Abu Dhabi on Monday, August 31, carrying a delegation of U.S. and Israeli officials.

El Al Flight 971 — numbered to represent the UAE’s international dialing code — made the trip in just three hours, having been granted permission to traverse Saudi Arabia’s airspace, usually off-limits to Israeli air traffic. Leading the delegation were Jared Kushner, advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, and head of the Israeli National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat.

In a joint statement with O’Brien and Kushner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was pleased by the speed with which Israeli-UAE normalization was progressing. The Emirates’ abolishing the official boycott against Israel “opens the door for what I can only call unbridled trade, tourism, investments, and exchanges between the Middle East’s two most advanced economies,” Netanyahu said.

Speaking on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion International Airport just before takeoff, Kushner expressed his hope that the flight would inspire Muslims and Arabs worldwide.

The treasure needed to be secured. So the hoard of 425 gold coins was stowed in a clay jar, its lid secured with a nail, and stashed in the sands of what is now central Israel.

And there it sat, undisturbed, for more than 1,100 years, until mid-August 2020, when two 18-year-olds taking part in an archaeological excavation by a hillside in Yavneh noticed something unusual that turned out to be an ancient treasure.

The teenagers were volunteers in as vast project linked to the construction of a community in Yavneh, south of Tel Aviv. The program offers the promise of connecting young people with history and, while it is meant to be culturally rewarding, it is not often that someone strikes gold — literally.

The coins, which weigh less than two pounds and are made of pure gold, date to the 9th century, when the Abbasid Caliphate ruled a vast empire stretching from Persia in the east to North Africa in the west.

Liat Nadav-Ziv and Elie Haddad, archaeologists at the Israel Antiquities Authority, which is in charge of the sprawling excavation site, said in a statement that the finding “might indicate that international trade took place between the area’s residents and remote areas.” They also said it was clear that the money had been hidden on purpose. We can only guess what prevented the owner from returning to collect this treasure, they said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging has awarded a $5 million grant to the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) to expand person-centered, trauma-informed care to Holocaust survivors, other older adults with a history of trauma and their family caregivers. The funding relies upon annual Congressional appropriations and $1.6 million in philanthropic contributions.

Some estimates suggest that up to 90 percent of older adults in the United States have experienced a traumatic event during their lifetimes, which can affect the aging process. The problems of this group have become even more acute with social distancing and the threats posed by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

A joint drill by the Israeli and German air forces on August 18 included an historic flyover above the Dachau concentration camp and also above Munich, both sites in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.

Two Israeli F-16s and two German Eurofighters escorted an Israeli Air Force Gulfstream G-550 carrying the commanders of both air forces — Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin and chief of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz — over the camp memorial outside Munich, while a third Eurofighter filmed the formation from the sky.

Then the flyover passed above the Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base, where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered during the 1972 summer Olympics in a terrorist attack carried out by the Black September Palestinian Terrorist Group.

At the end of the aerial maneuver, a formal memorial service was conducted at the Dachau camp, with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff in attendance.

A member of the Israeli delegation to the 52nd international chemistry Olympiad held this year in Istanbul, became the first Israeli competitor in a decade to win a gold medal at the prestigious event. The Israelis competed against 240 youths from 60 nations. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s event was held via Zoom.

Roi Peer, 18, of Gan Haim, scored a total of 90.35 qualifying him for the gold medal. Peer had won a silver last year, and a bronze two years ago. Peer’s teammates, Ron Shprints and Bar Sheffer, earned silver medals with scores of 83.31 and 81.80 respectively. Team member Ward Yahya scored 62.05 for a bronze.

The Education Ministry oversaw the team’s training.

According to an article in the August 14 issue of The New York Times, “Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached a landmark accord [on August 13] that could presage a broader realignment in the region as the two agreed to ‘full normalization of relations’ in exchange for Israel suspending annexation of occupied West Bank territory.”

If fulfilled, the pact would make the Emirates only the third Arab country to have normal diplomatic relations with Israel along with Egypt, which signed a peace agreement in 1979, and Jordan, which signed a treaty in 1994. “It could reorder the long stalemate in the region, potentially leading other Arab nations to follow suit in forging an increasingly explicit alliance with Israel against their mutual enemy in Iran while taking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explosive annexation plan off the table, at least for now,” The Times said.

The agreement drew backlash, despite support on both sides. The Shofar will continue to follow developments and report on progress as it occurs.