Israeli tourists in Dubai remain defiant in face of security threats

• Published date: 06 December 2020
• Author: MELANIE SWAN
• Date: 06 December 2020
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Israel's National Security Council warned last week, in a tougher than usual statement, that Iran may try to attack Israelis overseas, urging greater vigilance. The warnings came as a result of the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, for which Iran has openly blamed Israel, though no one has claimed responsibility. However, from the glitzy downtown area of Dubai to the historic old town, it is impossible to avoid Israelis. From the religious to the secular, forecasts expect 15,000 to arrive in Dubai in December.

The United Arab Emirates is one of just three green, quarantine-free countries for Israelis to travel to currently due to the pandemic, alongside the Seychelles and Rwanda; others previously available, including Greece, have recently been removed. Since normalization was announced on August 13, Israelis are hungry to experience the glitz and glamour of the small Gulf nation.

This week, coming for culture and business, thousands of Israelis are coming to Dubai for major events and conferences including Israeli Innovation Day at the GITEX technology conference, one of Dubai's largest annual trade shows.

Nir Tsuk has just arrived in Dubai to offer entrepreneurship training to the Dubai chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). The New York University professor said the warnings would not deter Israelis who have long been used to living with such threats.

After a long year of lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions, he said Israelis are itching to break free of "the ghetto."

"The eagerness to travel and to feel we are part of the world is much stronger than all these threats and warnings," Tsuk said. "I'm sure some people are paying attention to it, but we have these warnings all the time. And to be honest, I think for Israelis, the threat of coronavirus is a bigger worry than any threat from Iran. That's what people ask me about when I travel, not Iran."

SECURITY EXPERTS say the UAE has one of the highest concentrations of surveillance cameras in the world, a phenomenon that has only grown since the pandemic. Its crime rates also remain one of the world's lowest.

However, Israelis are no strangers to threats while traveling. In 2000, an ex-IDF colonel was lured to Dubai by Hezbollah, where he was abducted. He was held captive in Lebanon for four years before a prisoner exchange took place that finally led to his release. In 2012, a bus...