DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The war that erupted with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 caused turmoil throughout the Middle East and the world, but coexistence is still the norm in the UAE.
That was the assessment of this reporter after nearly 24 hours in the country, from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and back, retracing the steps of my journey last September, when there was talk of an imminent, historic peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
I paid a special visit to the Abrahamic Family House, a campus in Abu Dhabi that houses three majestic sanctuaries — Christian, Jewish, and Muslim — designed by Sir David Adjaye. Once again, the experience moved me deeply.
Services have continued at all three congregations — including at the Jewish synagogue, where only the flight of local residents from the boiling summer heat kept the congregation from meeting on Tuesday, a special Jewish fast day.
Again and again, I have been told by members of the local Jewish community that they feel safer being openly Jewish in the UAE than they do in most cities in the United States — even heavily Jewish New York — due to antisemitism.
In the aftermath of October 7, the UAE issued a strong condemnation of Hamas — one of few Arab states to do so. It has also criticized Israel’s response at times, but has clamped down on anti-Israel hostility, deporting a student who shouted “free Palestine!” at a graduation ceremony.
The war has caused some quiet tensions, but the UAE has not cut off relations with Israel, and is helping deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, working with Israel in doing so. The Abraham Accords remain strong.
Of course, those accords have not added a single new participating country since President Joe Biden left office. But with Biden quitting the 2024 presidential race, and a possible return by President Donald Trump, that may change.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
