Israeli's not welcome.
Snip...
A CNN/Sports Illustrated tennis columnist, Jon Wertheim, published
a column yesterday expressing outrage over the fact that an ATP tennis tournament is currently being held in Dubai, UAE. Wertheim observed that Israeli players on the tour are barred from participating in the tournament because Israeli citizens are not even permitted to enter that country.
One can get a sense of just how radical the UAE is by reviewing
its official website for tourists, which includes some information about the country’s entrance and visa policies:
General Information
There are several types of visas for visitors to Dubai.
Nationals of “Israel” may not enter the U.A.E.
Citizens of the Arab Gulf Co-operation Council member states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia) do not need a visa.
It isn’t just that Israeli citizens are barred from entering the country. Note the snide quotations marks around the word Israel -- because it’s a concept that is not real, that does not actually exist.
And notice the countries whose citizens can enter the UAE without even so much as obtaining a visa. The list includes Saudi Arabia, the country which gave us
17 15 out of the 19 hijackers (with
the other 2 sent courtesy of the UAE). Is a country which allows Saudi nationals to enter without even a visa really a country which is serious about combating Al Qeada?
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/Israeli company endorses port deal
CEO pens pro-deal letter to Sen. Clinton; UK court OKs mergerThursday, March 2, 2006; Posted: 3:35 p.m. EST (20:35 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The chairman of Israel's largest shipping firm has strongly backed a deal that would give a Dubai-based shipping company control of several U.S. port terminals.
Snip...
But pending an appeal by U.S.-based cargo handler Eller & Co., the judge has stayed that approval until 3 p.m. Friday. And DP World has agreed not to assume control of P&O's port operations until a 45-day security review can take place.
In a letter to Sen. Hillary Clinton, obtained exclusively by CNN, Israel's Zim Integrated Shipping Services CEO, Idon Ofer, called DP World a strong business partner, despite the United Arab Emirates' boycott of Israel. (
Read the letter -- PDF)
"During our long association with DP World, we have not experienced a single security issue in these ports or in any of the terminals operated by DP World," Ofer said in a letter written February 22. "We are proud to be associated with DP World and look forward to working with them into the future."
more...
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/02/port.security/index.html?section=cnn_latest