Hundreds demonstrated today (Friday) in Bahrain against the president's visit on Sunday.
The demonstrators carry signs with Herzog's portrait and the inscription in Hebrew "You are not wanted".
During his visit, the President will meet with the King of Bahrain and a number of local officials in the capital Manama.
In addition, Herzog will also meet with members of the Jewish community in Bahrain and visit the Bahraini Economic Development Authority, accompanied by representatives of leading economic entities from Israel.
In Bahrain, there is a small Jewish community and the authorities show a tolerant attitude towards it, and even reserve a seat for it in the parliament despite the small number of Jews on the island.
One of the members of the community, the lawyer Hoda Ezra Ibrahim Nono, even served as Bahrain's ambassador to the US and later to Canada.
Demonstrators against Herzog's visit to Bahrain, photo: use according to Section 27A of the Copyright Law
protesting against the president's visit,
Hundreds of protesters in Bahrain, photo: use according to Article 27A of the Copyright Law
Considered a moderate country
Bahrain, the "little sister" of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, had unofficial relations with Israel even before the signing of the Abraham Accords, and for decades has been considered one of the most moderate Arab countries in its approach towards Israel.
The two countries share a common fear of Iran which contributes to their close relations, which according to foreign publications have included security cooperation for many years.
In 2013, Bahrain declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization and was the first Arab country to do so, despite the fact that the majority of its population is Shiite and therefore apparently religiously close to Hezbollah.
A year later, Bahrain was the only country in the Persian Gulf to issue a statement condemning the attack on a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, in which six Israelis were murdered.
In 2016, the kingdom sent a delegation to the funeral of the country's president and former prime minister, Shimon Peres, and in 2018, Bahrain's foreign minister stated that he saw no problem in moving the American embassy to West Jerusalem.
In the same year, Bahrain also expressed public support for the IDF's extensive attack against Iranian targets in Syria, after launching rockets into the Golan Heights.
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