Sudanese businessman organizes trip to Israel to accelerate normalization

SANAA, Oct. 17 (YPA) – Sudanese businessman Abu Al-Qasim Bartam is preparing to organize a controversial trip to Israel, which will include forty Sudanese from different groups of society, to accelerate normalization between his country and the Hebrew state.

In the backyard of his home, whose façade resembled the White House, Bertam, 54, who works in agriculture and transportation, told AFP: “We will have university professors, workers, farmers, artists, athletes, and some followers of the Sufi orders.”

According to the AFP, this trip raises astonishment in Sudan due to the division of positions on the issue of normalization with Israel, whether between political parties or within civil society and even the transitional government that took power in Sudan after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.

Bartam, who is a father of ten, confirms that he will spend $ 160,000 on the five-day scheduled trip in November.

Regarding the purpose of the visit, Bartam, wearing a traditional Sudanese dress consisting of white robes and a turban, explains that “there is a psychological barrier between ordinary Sudanese and Israel, and this psychological barrier must be broken.”

Bartam asserts that he has never visited Israel and that he does not communicate with the Israeli authorities.

But he points out that nothing prevents him from visiting Israel, after the phrase “The bearer is allowed to travel to all countries except Israel” was deleted from the Sudanese passport 15 years ago.

In an opinion poll prepared by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and published last week, only 13% of the Sudanese supported establishing diplomatic relations between Sudan and Israel, while 79% opposed this move.

E.M