Officials gather in Manama as ‘Peace to Prosperity’ workshop about to kick off

Delegates, government officials and journalists — and at least five rabbis — start to gather at the Four Seasons hotel in Manama, the Bahraini capital, for the US-led “Peace to Prosperity” workshop, which is scheduled to start later tonight.

Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, from the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Rabbi Marc Schneier, an adviser for interfaith affairs to the king of Bahrain; Montreal-based Rabbi Mayer Gniwisch, the owner of a venture capital fund that invests in Israel; and one rabbi who asked to remain unnamed, are mixing with Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, and boss of soccer’s world governing body FIFA Gianni Infantino.

Jared Kushner, the senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, and US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, have not yet arrived.

Ashraf Jabari, the only Palestinian businessman known to attend the event, is sitting on a couch near the entrance of the hotel. He is joined by a handful of fellow Palestinians, who ask not to be interviewed but said they support Jabari and his decision not to boycott the event.

— Raphael Ahren