Israel is toast of Dubai expo

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog on Monday opened Israel national day at Expo 2020 Dubai, where the Jewish State’s national anthem “Hatikvah” was played.

Since the world expo opened on Oct. 1, more than 600,000 people have visited the Israeli pavillion.

“Israel is a country in which obstacles become opportunities, and where the impossible is a tantalizing challenge,” Herzog said. “This pavilion has provided a phenomenal taste of what we have to offer — from water tech and sustainable agriculture, to public health, to smart cities and ground-breaking solutions for a circular economy.

“It has also been a stage for the beautiful mosaic of cultures, faiths, music and arts that make up Israel’s vibrant society. And it has been a practical display of cooperation between nations, of the future we can all imagine.”

United Arab Emirates Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, commissioner-general of Expo 2020 Dubai, said he was pleased that Israel joined the event.

On Sunday night, Herzog met with leaders of Dubai’s Jewish community, including a rabbi who told them that the UAE is safer for Jews than the United States.

The Jewish leaders updated the president about their growing presence in the UAE and Herzog shared his vision for expanding the existing peace deal between the UAE and Israel.

“The dialogue between Judaism and Islam is at a fascinating point, and I very much look forward to further dialogue with Islamic countries [and] a new era in relations between Jews and Muslims in our region.”

Among the participants in the meeting were Rabbi Levi Duchman, a Chabad emissary who has been working in Dubai since 2014; Rabbi Elie Abadie, a senior community rabbi; and Jewish Agency representative Sarah Benchimol.

See On Expo run on page 4

Before getting together with the Jewish leaders, Herzog met with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the prince’s private palace. First Lady Herzog held a parallel meeting with Sheikha Alyazia bint Saif Al Nahyan at the same time.

Herzog is the first Israeli president to visit the UAE and see its Jewish community firsthand. Before the September 2020 Abraham Accords, only around 250 Jews lived in the UAE. Today, according to Rabbi Abadie, that number has doubled.

“Many French, British, Canadian, American and Israeli Jews have set up homes here and many are setting up businesses here,” Rabbi Abadie told JNS. He estimated that in the next three to five years, there will be as many as 5,000 Jews living in the UAE.

Moreover, since the peace treaty, an estimated 200,000 Jews have toured the country.

“The Jewish community [in the UAE] is one of the safest, if not the safest, in the world,” Rabbi Abadie contended. He said that Jews in Europe, the United States and South Africa are attacked on a near daily basis just for being Jewish.

“We do not have that here,” Rabbi Abadie said. “The UAE is absolutely, without a doubt, safer than the United States for Jews. … We know that the government is protecting us, as it is all the citizens and residents of this country.”

The leaders told Herzog about their establishment of kashrut services and synagogues, and plans to add a Jewish day school, mikveh, kosher bakery and pizza shop “in due time.”

“With G-d’s help, may you continue to go from strength to strength in building the institutions of the community, the education system, and of course synagogues and other institutions that every community has,” Herzog said. “Good luck to all of you.”

Rabbi Abadie said the Jewish presence in the country is celebrated on a daily basis. Sometimes Emiratis salute him on the street, stop to say “shalom” or tell him how happy they are that the Jews are in the UAE.

But while he regularly feels how special it is to live there, “when we have the president of the State of Israel received with such a beautiful welcome and the Israeli national anthem is played in the palace, and you see all the Israeli flags flying around the palace and the airport next to UAE flag — you want to pinch yourself to see if it is reality, and it is reality.”

At the expo, Herzog said the Israel pavilion “has provided a phenomenal taste of what we have to offer — from water tech and sustainable agriculture, to public health, to smart cities and ground-breaking solutions for a circular economy. It has also been a stage for the beautiful mosaic of cultures, faiths, music and arts that make up Israel’s vibrant society. And it has been a practical display of cooperation between nations, of the future we can all imagine.”

He added that “this imagination turned into reality right here, when the UAE and its leaders daringly signed the historic Abraham Accords. This was a decision not only to normalize ties, but to shape a new tomorrow for the next generation of both our nations and of the entire region.”

Since the Abraham Accords were announced, Israel-UAE trade has topped $1 billion, more than 120 agreements have been signed, and a $100 million R&D fund was established, Herzog said.

“Part of the novelty of the UAE is the combination of an innovative spirit and forward-thinking approach, with deep respect for the glorious Muslim tradition,” Herzog said. “We, the people of Israel, as children of the same Abraham, share your high regard for religious faith bound with ingenuity. We admire the course you have charted. Friends, I hope, and I believe, that more and more nations will soon follow the UAE’s lead and join the Abraham Accords.”

Herzog concluded: “The State of Israel is eager to walk with the UAE, and all the nations here at the expo towards a brighter, more sustainable and more peaceful tomorrow, for our nations, our region and the entire world.”

During the period of Herzog’s visit, the UAE intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis right after midnight on Sunday night. Debris fell in an uninhabited area, causing no damage or casualties, according to the UAE Defense Ministry. There was no indication as to whether the missile was aimed at Dubai, site of the expo, or Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE.

The attack was the third on the UAE by Houthi terrorists in the past two weeks. On Jan. 24, UAE fighter jets destroyed a missile launcher in Yemen shortly after it was used by the Houthis to launch two ballistic missiles at Abu Dhabi. Those missiles, too, were successfully intercepted by the UAE’s air defense systems, and caused no damage or casualties, according to the UAE Defense Ministry.

The UAE is part of a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, who have also repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia.

On Sunday, Herzog and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a working meeting that lasted over two hours. During the meeting, the president stressed Israel’s support of the UAE’s security requirements and condemned a recent attack on the country by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“We are here together to find ways and means to bring full security to people who seek peace in our region,” said Herzog.

The crown prince thanked the president and said that it was “a stance that demonstrates our common view of the threats to regional stability and peace, particularly those posed by militias and terrorist forces, as well as our shared understanding of the importance of taking a firm stance against them.”

“Our region is one of those that has suffered the most from wars and conflicts,” the crown prince said. “Through peace, we in the UAE, Israel and the wider region, can direct resources and capabilities towards serving our nations and paving the way for a better tomorrow.

“There is no doubt that your country’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai is one of the results of this peace, and it will help deepen our cooperation and partnership and identify mutual opportunities for Israel and the UAE,” bin Zayed continued.

The president and his wife received a grand official welcoming ceremony at the royal palace. During the ceremony, the Israeli and Emirati national anthems were played, the delegations were presented to the leaders, and then the president reviewed the royal honor guard, which performed a 21-gun salute in honor of his arrival.

“This visit is an expression, as you said correctly, Your Highness, of the vision and dream of peace and the spirit of peace, which we bring to the entire region,” Herzog said during the meeting. “We are two successful nations who started with very little in our hands, developed our lands into a successful paradise and in many ways set an example to the world of how to lead and develop a nation with a vision of the future.”

The prince said that Herzog’s visit, coming just a short while after a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, confirms that the relationship between the two countries is “moving full steam ahead and there is a common and strong will to strengthen them for the benefit of our countries and peoples.” 

The World Expo is hosted every five years in a different country, in a location selected by a vote at the Bureau International des Expositions. The UAE is the first Middle Eastern country to host the event, which runs through March 31. It was postponed from 2020 because of the pandamic.

The commissioner-general of Expo 2020 Dubai said the participation of 192 countries “is a testament to the UAE’s efforts to bring the world together into one unified platform in a bid to build bridges, engage in constructive dialogue and develop sustainable solutions to modern-day challenges. We strongly believe that what unites humanity far outweighs what divides it.”

Each country represented at the expo presents its own pavilion through which it shares select elements of its culture, history and progress, as well as its vision for the future.