Should Israelis befriend moderate Sunnis such as the Saudis, or the region’s outcasts? by Gabriel Scheinmann At the United Nations in early fall, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that “a broader rapprochement between Israel and the Arab world” could not only help defeat the twin threats of a nuclear Iran and Sunni jihadism but could also help “facilitate an Israeli-Palestinian peace.” Given the perceived regional dominance of Sunni Arabs, such an approach appears tempting. After all, in the Middle East, the Arabs are king—in some cases literally, as with the royal families of Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. All but five modern Middle Eastern states have Sunni Arab majorities. Historic opportunities for collaboration do certainly exist. However, to the extent these states cooperate with Israel, it’s not out of admiration but out of desperation. Unable to defeat it...

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