The answer to the above is… very serious. I wrote the following over a year ago in my article: Israel is Moving Beyond Turkey:
The alliance stands to quickly change the Eastern Mediterranean geopolitical reality, providing a sense of stability in a region engulfed by radical Islamic chaos. The burgeoning partnership is a testament to Israel’s increased standing in the World, despite the claims of isolation due to a lack of movement in the “peace process.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu is departing today to meet with the leaders of both Greece and Cyprus in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the third G2G meeting and for the third trilateral summit between the leaders of Israel, Greece, and Cyprus.
According to reports agreements are expected to include tripartite cooperation in the fields of energy, communications, environmental protection, innovation and scientific research and development.
"The emerging East Mediterranean Alliance not only strengthens Israel, but changes the geo-political reality in Europe as the EU continues to collapse. Already Israelis find it easy and affordable to travel to Greece and Cyprus for vacation. In terms of joint military and energy exploration, the three countries are suited to work together to create stability in the face of Middle Eastern chaos. The alliance offers Greece and Cyprus an alternative to the centralized power held by the EU in Brussels."
As world alliances begin to shift away from the post cold-war model, rising economic and technological power like Israel have begun to provide regional stability. So are we seeing an emergence of a new trading zone? Don’t be surprised.