When the UAE made peace with Israel via the Abraham Accords, Israelis by the tens of thousands went to visit the various emirates within the first few months of relations. We went sometime later and had a great time there. This past week, my wife and I had another opportunity to go to Dubai—if only to the massive international airport there.
While Israelis went gaga for Dubai, the same was never true for Jordan or Egypt. Peace with those countries goes back decades, yet I know of nobody who visited either, except for those who went to Sharm el-Sheikh for diving or went on a day trip to Petra for the wonders there. Why is there such a difference in attitude to Arab peace partners here in Israel? It has to do with the way the UAE made peace. Immediately after the agreements were signed, the Emir required all local hotels to offer a kosher breakfast option. Kosher restaurants popped up as did other Jew-friendly locations and activities. On the Emirates flight, one of the many options for movies was “Hebrew” — whereas the Jordanian national carrier simply replaces Palestine for Israel on its maps. The distribution of movies that included virtually all languages and cultures taught me two things: there is much beyond the United States. That said, the U.S. is still the dominant cultural driver in the world.
The Emir and his colleagues made some decisions with regard to the UAE’s role in the world. The national airlines, Emirates, has around 120 of the super jumbo A380 jets. The next closest is Singapore Airlines with 15. The leadership decided that they want Dubai to be a massive hub for world travel. And with Turkey out of the Israeli air market, many people like the Bauers use Dubai as a step to getting to a much farther destination. We went to South Africa, while we met others on their way to Australia and Singapore. El Al stopped flying to South Africa when the latter referred Israel to the International Criminal Court. Our options were Dubai or Addis Ababa for stopovers. In order to allow for Emirates to succeed, the UAE has put its own limits on Islam in business. Emirates has liquor on its flights. One can see women not so fully dressed walking around the attractions in Dubai. If the Emir had wanted total Islamic orthodoxy, then there would be no opening for the UAE to become a massive travel hub or tourist attraction. Instead, the UAE has chosen a path that lets it make a real peace with Israel and allow for non-Muslims to feel comfortable in the country. That is a huge step, and the difference in approach is the difference between thousands of Israelis going to Dubai and none going to Cairo. I have noted that virtually none of those on the FlyDubai flights to and from Tel Aviv appear to be UAE residents. They are not interested in Tel Aviv, but they are very interested in Israelis visiting and transiting their country.
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FlyDubai runs around eight daily flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai, and it continued flying throughout the war, except when the international airport was closed during the 12-day war with Iran. The UAE wants to be a partner with Israel, and immediately after the Abraham Accords were signed at the White House, ambassadors were exchanged and investment opportunities were created. What the UAE has done is a model for what the Trump administration would like to see in the broader Middle East. The goal of Donald Trump is to get everybody to make getting along the top priority and put all other issues in the background. He knows that Turkey hates Israel, but he wants both of them in his broad coalition. Turkish Airways wants to return to its Tel Aviv routes next month. My preference would be that Israel tell them to go pound sand. My next best option would be for Israelis simply to avoid the Turks for all of their pro-Hamas behavior. This is not what Donald Trump wants. He wants Israel to hold its nose, take in the Turkish airlines that abandoned the market, and encourage citizens to fly to Turkey as either a destination or waypoint toward other destinations. I cannot stress how much Israelis traveled to Turkey for vacation or used its airports to get to destinations in Europe and the U.S. Erdogan’s anti-Israel rule has soured the locals on the Turks, and it would take a lot of Washington arm-twisting to get the two countries back together. Jerusalem has already nixed any participation of Turkish troops in Gaza, as they would be pro-Hamas. The White House is not pleased with this development.
Dubai’s model has caused for a lot of hate of late. Protests against the UAE have taken place in the West, because the country is considered not a part of the “resistance.” Just as those on the Left are opposed to a ceasefire in Gaza that leaves Israel existing, they are also against any country that actually interacts with Israel in a positive way. The UAE was generally considered a bland conglomerate of city states in the Gulf. But as it has chosen to honor its Abraham Accords obligations, it has been tarred as not being supportive of the Palestinians. Unlike in the crazy West, in the UAE, the Muslim Brotherhood is banned as are all symbols such as Palestinian flags and Hamas headbands. They Emir is not interested in national suicide and knows a threat when he sees one.
The transformation of the UAE is quite striking. It was not long ago that it was one of the major funders of Hamas. It went ballistic when the Mossad whacked a Hamas money man in a local hotel. It threatened to catch the two dozen spies it claimed were involved in the hit. Now, the UAE encourages business with Israel and continues to run flights day and night out of Tel Aviv. Our connection was an Emirates flight. Years ago, a passenger was denied entry to an Emirates flight in Miami because his connection had come from Israel. Now, they have kosher food and encourage travel via its regional partner. We were treated well on the two Emirates flights, though they still have a ways to go on the quality of kosher offerings.
For the UAE to transition from a Gulf oil powerhouse to a world business player, its leaders decided to keep its Islam to itself. It accepts tourists from all over the world and does not demand that they adapt themselves to Islamic demands. Their approach has allowed for the growth of their flight dominance and influence in the Middle East and beyond. It took enormous courage to make peace with Israel and build on that peace. And President Trump is depending on the UAE being a linchpin in the new Middle East. He would like Iran to behave like the UAE but the mullahs don’t have a Persian word for “compromise” on issues of religion and state. The UAE will benefit from its approach while Iran will continue to be isolated and suffer internationally. That’s the price for not playing ball according to the new rules of Donald Trump.
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