The 1st anniversary of the Abraham Accords – The Jewish Angle: A special Israel Hayom project
Part II: A newfound friendship with the local Jewish community
With the signing of the Abraham Accords, one might assume that the coming together of Islam and Judaism in the UAE can be taken for granted – but this is a mistaken assumption: it is the result of a long process that the Emiratis have gone through in relation to their religion and with regard to non-Muslims, with the goal of shaping their faith anew. In this regard, a crucial event was the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, and the later appearance of the Islamic State, as another traumatic aspect of the export of extremist Islam around the world.
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"The negative image of Islam that developed following the 9/11 terror attacks led the Emiratis to a process of renewed and in-depth thinking, which ultimately influenced their relations with Judaism and with Jews," explains Dr. Moran Zaga, a researcher on the United Arab Emirates at the University of Haifa and the Mitvim Institute.
According to her, "the state examined in-depth how to resurrect the good and moderate name of Islam from the days of the 'Golden Age' of the Caliphates as a contemporary worldview – in other words, Islam as an inclusive and tolerant religion. During that period, Islam was thought of as the most advanced civilization in the world. I also attribute this to the desire of the UAE to show today that Islam can both be a moderate religion, and can also go together with progress."
Practically, the Emiratis looked at what was happening in their region and saw that, while their neighbor Qatar supports the Muslim Brotherhood movement, as does Turkey, and in Iran the Revolutionary Guard rules with an iron fist that constitutes an ideological threat that isn't solely physical, there is a need to distinguish between the common extremist Islam and the moderate Islam that they want to present.
Against this background, the state chose to operate on two levels. On the internal level, the state launched an ideological struggle against the radical axis [boycott of Qatar, wars in Yemen against the Houthis and in Libya against extremist forces]. Externally, the UAE accepted other people's religions – it hosts on its territory more than 200 different nations, and therefore finds cultural pluralism natural," Zaga said.
In practice, more than 40 churches have been built in the UAE, many Buddhist temples and recently a synagogue – this is the extensive background against which the tolerance towards Judaism can be felt. In addition to this, the proclamation of the "Year of Tolerance" in 2019, as well as the visit of the Pope in February of that year, led, among other things, to a comprehensive change in atmosphere, including recognition of the Jewish community in Dubai and to interfaith dialogue.
"As long as the UAE, and the Islam within it, shows openness towards other religions – so Islam will be highlighted as an inclusive religion. To this can be added the recognition of learning Jewish culture and tradition, and there are more and more museums that present the story of the Jews – and all of this without undermining in any way the political stability of the country."
In this regard, Zaga emphasizes that "the coming together of Islam and Judaism in the Emirates contributed to the coming together between the states and the peoples, but one should remember the fragility of this gentle web of relations and to take it into account in the future. Tolerance is not self-evident. The Jewish community should be allowed to blossom and to maintain a respectful and sensitive place, and, God forbid, the Emirati way of thinking should not be reversed."
The regenerated Jewish community in the UAE now counts more than 1,000 people, and is active mainly in Dubai (75%) and Abu Dhabi (25%). The members of the community are professional English-speakers from the fields of teaching, finance, mechanics, software engineering, medicine, and entrepreneurship. They came to the area from different places, including North America, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, South Africa, Australia, and Arab countries.
Officially, prior to the current agreement, the Jewish community existed in secret. According to estimates, today it includes around 200 school-age children, hence the importance of building the first Jewish school in Dubai, as part of shaping the emerging Jewish identity in the country. The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs entrusted the process of its establishment to the 'United' organization, with the support of important and anonymous philanthropic organizations.
"The Jews of the UAE have no problem living under Sharia law, the feeling is very secure," says Sara Ben-Shimol, who has lived in the principality for six years, together with her partner Steve and their four-year-old twins. The two of them are in the hospitality business – their company rents Airbnb flats to visitors to the principality – and according to them: "Even before the agreements we had a good life. They [the agreements] simply made things more comfortable for Jews, thanks to the local authorities who are extremely helpful in giving the appropriate permits."
Sara adds, for illustration, that "As a woman who keeps kosher, they carried out extensive adjustments here, and we are grateful for that. As a rule, here there is an interest in 'kosher businesses': kosher restaurants and kosher imports, alongside remote workers who chose Dubai as their home. It's important for me to mention the work of the Jewish Agency emissary here, who is doing excellent work for the local Jewish community."
In an earlier conversation I had with Sara one year ago, she noted that, in the beginning, she had a certain concern about coming to the Emirates with twins ("It's listed that they were born in Ichilov") but in the end everything came together without any problems. "There's no problem to maintain a Jewish way of life and to pray, and when we hear more and more Hebrew in our immediate surroundings it, of course, makes things even easier – and we also feel closer to guests who visit us from all over the world."
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