Sheikh Jabari said: “In the years since Oslo, we have reached nowhere...Sometimes you deal so much with the big initiatives that you forget the little people. There are tens of thousands of business owners, Israeli and Palestinian, who want to work together and to cooperate, not with big slogans and announcements but in real, everyday life. We established the JS Chamber for such people, and since doing so, we have helped dozens of business leaders, both Israeli and Palestinian, cooperate in different business ventures. In this light, I decided to attend the conference in Bahrain in order to push this trend forward as it answers an authentic need coming from the ground up. After I had made it known that I was positively considering the invitation I received to attend the summit, hundreds of Palestinian businessmen conveyed to me their backing of such an endeavor. I intend to be their voice in this conference.”

The other co-founder of the JS Chamber, an Israeli, Avi Zimmerman added: “We are happy that the US administration decided to start promoting its peace initiative with a business-economic process. This is a recognition of the importance of our operations and a sign that this recognition – shared by a growing number of both Israelis and Palestinians – is also entering the international discourse. The power of joint Israeli-Palestinian business ventures comes from the fact that they stem from reality and not from theoretical ideas and impractical solutions.” Adding that "sustainability and dignity" are goals of JS Chamber for residents in the region.

The economic workshop, which will be held on June 25-26, will be co-hosted by Bahrain’s king, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. So far, the ministers of the economy from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have confirmed their attendance, but the Palestinian Authority is refusing to participate. Last week, Jabari received the direct invitation to take part in the workshop from US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. The US Israel Education Association (USIEA), an organization that works to educate US lawmakers about realities on the ground in Israel, established a connection between the US administration and the JS Chamber.

The invitation follows an Israeli-Palestinian economic forum that was held in Jerusalem three months ago and organized by both the USIEA and JS Chamber. At the meetings at the King David Hotel, were dozens of Palestinian Mukhtars and Israeli heads of local councils in the West Bank, all of whom came with the goal of promoting mutual cooperation on the local and municipal levels. Addressing the KDH gathering, US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman said: "political solutions are important, but pieces of paper are not creating peace, relations create peace, investments create peace, friendships create peace, this is the peace that will last, that is the kind of peace that is sustainable."    

At the press conference at Media Central, Jabari emphasized that his interest is in improving the living standard to Palestinians. Repeatedly saying that he does not want to get involved in politics, only economics. Adding that the King of Bahrain has assured him that the future workshop will deal only with economic issues. Jabari said at the press conference "business is global, not regional" adding he is "not into solutions and peace processes," but rather improving business and economy now to help people feed their families and lead dignified lives.