Posted on 03/01/2006 8:52:57 AM PST by Esther Ruth
Dubai Reaffirms Policy of Refusing Entry to Israelis 17:11 Mar 01, '06 / 1 Adar 5766 By Michael Freund, INN International Affairs Correspondent
Despite heavy criticism in Washington over its continued enforcement of the anti-Israel Arab boycott, the Government of Dubai has reiterated its refusal to allow Israeli citizens to enter Dubai.
“We don’t give a permit for Israeli passport holders to enter the country,” Mohammed Ali al-Mohari of the Entry Permits Section of Dubai’s Interior Ministry said in a telephone interview. “It’s a rule.”
Asked to explain the reason behind the policy, Al-Mohari laughed and said that he thinks this is the case for most Arab countries. “This is how it is in most of the Arabic lands, I am sure,” he said.
He added, though, that the holder of a foreign passport bearing stamps which indicated that he or she had once visited the Jewish state would not encounter any problems entering the country.
Dubai’s refusal to allow Israelis to set foot on its soil also features prominently on a government-run website belonging to the Gulf Arab nation.
On the website of the Dubai Government’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, under the section titled “Visa Regulations” it states that, “Nationals of ‘Israel’ may not enter the U.A.E.”, a reference to the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a constituent state.
The reaffirmation of Dubai’s policy of barring entry to Israelis came just one day after Democratic and Republican legislators in Washington blasted the country’s ongoing participation in the Arab boycott of the Jewish state.
Dubai’s continued enforcement of the anti-Israel trade ban was first revealed in a report in Monday’s Jerusalem Post.
Republican Senator Ted Stevens and Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer both lambasted Dubai for its policy on Israel, as did former presidential nominee Senator John Kerry, who said, “This boycott not only violates at least the spirit of U.S. law, it is inconsistent with everything we believe in as Americans.”
They spoke at a hearing of the US Senate Commerce Committee, which convened Monday to discuss US President George W. Bush’s controversial plan to sell 6 American ports to Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the Government of Dubai.
At the hearing, Edward H. Bilkey, the chief operating officer of Dubai Ports World, was grilled by Senators after confirming that his firm’s parent holding company does enforce the Arab boycott. He insisted, however, that this would not have any impact on the administration of American ports were the proposed acquisition to be completed.
In response, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement calling on the Bush Administration to drop the ports deal.
“That Dubai Ports World is owned by the emirate of Dubai, which actively supports the Arab economic boycott of Israel, should be grounds enough to torpedo any deal with the United States on port operations,” said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman. “Dubai should not benefit from America’s open trade policies unless it discontinues its anti-Israel activity.”
Published: 16:44 March 01, 2006 Last Update: 17:11 March 01, 2006
So would they let in an Arab Israeli?
bump
Looks like Dubai has a pretty strong, documented xenophobic streak, itself.
ping
Boxhead, Kerry, and Stevens are Hard Right?
thanx for the tip :)
Most of the Gulf states have refused Jews entry in general, unless they were American Jews, sent to bail out their sorry posteriors..
Any country, or person for that matter, that uses sharia is not moderate. That barbaric legal system is horrible, by tacitly approving it we are culpable as well.
But, but...I was told we can trust them. They are our friends. They have no hidden agendas. In fact, I understand China is our friend as well. If we can just get to be better friends with Iran...we can all hold hands and have a Coke moment.
Now....back to reality.
Amazing how the faux-right purports to love the Jews and continually tells us to support Israel, until they're inconvenient to their BS Port Propaganda.
Dubai's participation in the boycott of Israeli goods, and this denial of Israeli entry into the country is a problem for the port deal. I expect an actual legal challenge to it, based on U.S. law.
"He added, though, that the holder of a foreign passport bearing stamps which indicated that he or she had once visited the Jewish state would not encounter any problems entering the country."
They are sooooo moderate, arent they.
LOL!!
a point i made yesterday is these same people use saddam hussein's funding of suicide bombers in palestine as evidence he was a threat. but when the UAE does it, it's just 'par for the course'.
I'm Israeli and I've been to Dubai. It's funny how the Arabs have a tendency to look the other way at their own stupid laws when Jews are of special use to them.
Good point...I bet Pat Buchanan has changed his mind about the deal now!
LOLOL.......suddenly the leftists are on the side of Israeli's............LOLOLOL.....oh, I can't wait to hear more!
On the other hand, the U.A.E. and Israel are technically at a state of war, so it would make sense to bar enemy nationals.
Interesting. Did you enter the country using an Israeli passport?
Have you noticed China allowing Christian Churches to operate freely in their country?
Does China operate our ports on the West Coast?
Does China operate the Panama Canal?
Does China hold the lease on the tallest building in Chicago?
Yes, but I'd rather not discuss the details here -- suffice it to say, officials in the Dubai government wanted me, so things happened.
"LOLOL.......suddenly the leftists are on the side of Israeli's............LOLOLOL.....oh, I can't wait to hear more!"
You might want to save the laughter, because the opposite is also true, for those who support this deal and consider themselves conservative.
"Yes, but I'd rather not discuss the details here "
Not a problem. I was just curious.
I would bet a substantial sum of money that our good friends at the State Department and the DOJ will kibosh any action against DPW.
Here's another one.
The answers to your question are all Yes. So? I don't like that situation, either. Why add more?
Now that we've established you have no problem with a dictatorship like China doing business here, who else do you think that privilege should be extended to? Should the same privileges be extended to the gov't of North Korea? How about the Palestinian gov't? How about the Syrian gov't?
The Dubai yes men arrive quickly to scream "Racism".
That's my sarcastic point. The United States politicians better quit selling their souls at our expense.
China should be OUT as well.
Aye. 100% with you.
President Bush: I'm sorry we don't allow Arab countries to own our ports.
This is how it is in most of the American lands, I am sure,” he said.
That should have been our answer.
You're claiming that people more conservative than the President "hate Jews"? That's an awfully broad statement.
Bring back our own homegrown mobsters to run the ports, the airports, and all shipping.
You have freepmail
John Kerry -
"We should not be rewarding companies that support discrimination against our key strategic ally "
America to Dubai or Dubai to Israel?
Pot Kettle Black.
Dp World does not enforce the boycott now at the terminals they operate. It is the publicly operated terminal in Dubai that runs the boycott, and the UAE itself. DP World has been made separate to keep from falling into the anyi-boycott laws of other countries.
thank you for pointing that out.
it's also my understand that one of their biggest 'customers' is Israel. at least that's what I heard this morning so apparently what the company does is separate from what the country engages in.
I can see this as a valid reason to want to block this deal.
However most of the people bringing this up now are hardly steadfast supporters of Israel.
I also suspect that this is not part of what the government is supposed to use as a criteria for approving or disapproving this deal under current law.
It appears that the owner of the company supports the boycott of Israel and Israeli people entering their country.
However, this company that they own doesn't enforce that boycott, and does do business with Israelis.
It seems like while the UAE has recently become a very valuable ally in the war on terror, there are still a lot of areas in which they need to improve.
If that is true, I am sure their executives will have no problem testifying to that fact and explaining how their parent company's boycott of Israel (not to mention their country's boycott of Israel) will have no impact on their operations. Hopefully they will also be able to produce company memorandums that explain how this policy is enforced and that also explain to their employees, including the UAE nationals who are employed by them, that anyone who participates in the boycott of Israel will be fired and may be subject to criminal penalties.
Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.
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Artuz Sheva is the Hart Right? They tell us to dump Israel?
You're dreaming.
Next time, describe them as rabid settlers from Brooklyn.
Why do you post BS like this.
Rules are made to be broken, I'm told the Saudis let Israelis in when they need them. I've also heard that in the UAE and other "liberal" Arab nations that allow entry with an Israeli stamp in your passport, the policy is subject to the discretion of the agent reviewing your docs.
The question should be Palestinian. I doubt it. They probably allow workers from most everywhere except Palestine or Palestinian Jordan.
The palestinians are viewed as barely above rats on the human scale. They give charity to make them saty home.
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