Saudi Columnist Compares Arab States’ Quiet Israel Ties to Man Secretly Taking Viagra

The Algemeiner reports: A prominent Saudi columnist recently mocked Arab countries for their refusal to publicize their ties with Israel.

In an August 2, 2017 column in the Al-Madina newspaper, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Muhammad Arif wrote that some Arab states’ relations with Israel were “like someone who takes Viagra in secret and does not want anybody to know about it because he fears it will detract from his manliness and wants to remain a macho in the eyes of his neighbors and friends.”

This was because many Arab states “maintain relations with Israel but deny it, [although] these ties can hardly be denied given the existence of embassies and mutual visits in full view.”

Referring to the recent Temple Mount crisis, Arif called the Arab states’ reactions “ridiculous or even laughable.”