With the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House on 15 September 2020, a new historic era in relations between Israel and the Arab Gulf States was inaugurated. What was previously a limited, secretive relationship has suddenly flowered into a multi-faceted public courtship. With this backdrop, the University of Haifa’s Ezri Center for Iran & Persian Gulf Studies—operating as part of the Haifa Maritime Policy and Strategy Research Center (HMS)—hosted its annual symposium on 3 October 2020 entitled "The Gulf States – from Periphery to Center."