DUBAI – For years, Israeli entrepreneurs have been hiding outside the UAE, traveling on second passports or trading through third parties.
So when more than two dozen Israeli high-tech officials arrived in Dubai recently, it was hard to miss them. Chatting in Hebrew, they reached the marble area of the Dubai Mall and the top VIP observation deck of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
It was less than six weeks since the other Gulf Arab states, the UAE and Bahrain, signed agreements to normalize relations with Israel and open embassies. But this high-profile delegation of Israeli innovations was making a clear entry even before direct flights and other formal formal protocols were established.
His visit was the initial escalation in court between the two parties that have been at least in public – opponents for decades. But even the momentum of the once-hidden relationship with the openness surprised even the people inside the pins: the more than seven decades of Arab-Israeli conflict melted away in a matter of days.
Both sides clicked when Israeli officials delivered large sums of money from the emirate’s capital, Abu Dhabi, to the plum hotel’s roomroom late last month. The emirates sat intently at the round table in shiny white robes and headdresses, listening to presentations about cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and mingling during the break.
To the amazement of the Israelis, the emirates were most interested in the introduction of Invopro’s chief executive, Tally Nechustan, a food tech company that produces plant-based protein from chickpeas.
“Who would have thought?” Ms. Neshushten said that, later on, the regional main is relaxed with a delight, which is the main ingredient of Humus. But the Israelis came at a time when the coronavirus epidemic disrupted trade and exposed one of the UAE’s weaknesses: it imports about 90 percent of its food.
“I think we were all hungry,” said Siddique Al Khuri, chief executive of investment house Abu Dhabi Capital Group.
Emirati investors also showed interest in censorship presented by Yonhatan Ben Hamozag, founder of the agri-intelligence company Agrient. The sensor “listens” to the palm tree and allows early detection of fine black which can eventually destroy the tree from the inside.
The UAE has more than 40 million dates, one-third of the world’s total. In a promising sign of future cooperation, the potential client invited Mr. Ben Hamozag, whose censors have been tested by an American subsidiary to visit his private farm in the Emirates for a year.
Mohammed Mandel, chief operating officer of the Royal Strategic Partners Group in Abu Dhabi, another Emirati investor, said he felt a sense of belonging to the Israelis. He told how he took a DNA test and found a match in Tel Aviv for his rare Babylonian gene.
“If we exclude religious ideologies and are inflamed by 70 years of conflict, wars and media, we will end up with human beings,” he said in an interview. Describing the Israelis as “cousins”, he added, “We share the same food, the same DNA, the same appearance.”
Desolate from Dubai’s skyscrapers, like Las Vegas, from the desert and warm with a friendly hug, the Israelis said the confrontation felt like a dream come true, as they had previously experienced in the Arab world.
Ariel Margalit, an adventurous Israeli capitalist and former legislator who led the delegation, was invited to appear as a guest on the government-owned Dubai TV studio’s “Message for Message” broadcast in Arabic and English. Popular presenter Yusuf Abdulbari. It was filmed against a panoramic backdrop of Dubai and Tel Aviv skylines.
“This is the first time they have hosted an Israeli,” Mr Abdulbari said on camera.
“You could say it’s like falling in love,” said Mr. Abdulbari, describing the humming and innovative spirit of innovation in the studio.
Speaking on television from a visionary point of view, Mr. Margalit said that after London, Paris and New York, the area was the area that Israeli entrepreneurs wanted to reach the most.
He added, “We hope we have something grand.
Mr Margalit, founder and chairman of the Jerusalem-based venture capital fund JVP, chartered a private plane from Tel Aviv to Dubai and filled it with businessmen and journalists for a four-day visit.
His staff included executives from 13 of the fund’s hottest portfolio portfolio companies, most of whom were visiting Dubai for the first time. Some of the Israeli army consisted of elite intelligence and technical units.
In the flight over, he described the emirate as a potential gateway to huge markets for billions of people. Beyond the prospect of investing in Emirati oil assets in Israeli companies, he envisioned a cutting-edge partnership of Israel’s cutting edge technology with the knowledge of emirates and reached out based on a long history of business from the Middle East to Africa and South Asia.
Once they arrived, it quickly became clear that the Israeli delegation and the emirate were well matched in terms of ambition and adventure.
Israeli guests wrapped a welcome letter under the door of a hotel room, welcoming the Hebrews as “Shalom Alishem.” Signed by the local chairman who owns the hotel, he also invited them to stay in touch to explore business opportunities together.
Contrary to Israel’s decades-old “cold peace” with Egypt and Jordan, the relationship felt different. With those countries, few business connections have been made, and Israeli tourists who venture out are wary of speaking Hebrew in public.
One big difference is that the Israelis and the emirates never fought a war, so the relationship comes without the emotional baggage of defeat and bloodshed.
Under-the-radar relations have grown over decades of growing alliance against Israel and their common enemy, the Gulf Arab states, Iran. Much has happened since the normalization deals began, with President Trump stepping up pressure to achieve a few final foreign policy achievements in the final weeks of the U.S. election.
Israeli and Emirati officials have signed agreements and agreements on investment, civil aviation and mutual visa exemption to support trade and tourism.
David Maiden, a former senior official at Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, first visited the emirate in 2005 with his boss. He has since turned to doing business there and has joined the JVP delegation. Mr. Margalit credited him for helping pave the way for newcomers.
“For me, this is closing a circle,” Mr Maidan said.
JVP representatives also met with government ministers, although the only gathering to be announced was with the Minister of State for Food Security.
Some Israeli officials sat in jeeps on boats on the island’s mansions or on desert rides for sensible meetings with the Seths during a late-night bhola meal. But there were no immediate deals: the emirate is known for being cautious in business, and an Israeli company was already under review there for 18 months.
The emirates also took security precautions, during which young playcloth officials sensibly chased the Israelis. Walking alone in Dubai’s gold and spice markets, Israelis commented on how safe they felt for safety even when tourists were evacuated by the epidemic.
Traders from Afghanistan and elsewhere greeted visitors enthusiastically after inquiring where they were.
“Come on, we need you!” Requested a trunk seller, volunteer that he was from Iran, across the Gulf waters.
Symbolism was not lost on the senior Israel executive drawer lever at Coronet, a company that provides cyber defense based on artificial intelligence. His father, he said, traded arms with Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
He said, ‘Now I’m here because my enemy’s enemy is a friend.’
