Lessons from Dubai

VI have just returned from a Pesach programme in Dubai, where we were treated to a wonderful, comprehensive itinerary, excellent food and a fantastic hotel. The standard of service, both at the hotel and in Dubai as a whole, was the best I have experienced in many years of travel. Also, despite wearing my kippah at all times, I was able to travel around securely and with no animosity.

Israel was too slow to allow the entry of children following the Covid pandemic, and its prices, both in terms of flights and accommodation for our family, were astronomic. Compared to what we paid for our Dubai holiday, a similar programme in Israel would have cost double.

I would thus like to pass on some recommendations to both Israel, as well as the Palestinians.

During the pandemic, the Israeli tourist industry was obliterated. Yet since the pandemic has come under control, the government has done nothing to kick-start tourism. The cost of travel to Israel is far too expensive, and the price of hotels is prohibitive. Furthermore, the facilities and service standards at Israeli hotels has been lagging behind other tourist attractions for years. It is still impossible to fly directly to Eilat.

Thousands of people living in Israel are still dependent on the tourist industry for their livelihood, and the knock-on effect on their source of income is disastrous.

The Israeli government should ensure that prices are reduced, service standards are improved and Israel reestablishes itself as a major and affordable tourist destination. If not, people will vote with their feet, and continue to go to Dubai and elsewhere.

With regard to the Palestinians, they should have a close look about how their Sunni Arab brethren in the UAE have organised their economic and social affairs over the past 20 years. The UAE is a major economic, investment, and tourist miracle. Contrast this with the Palestinians, where the Palestinian Authority fritters away its billions of dollars of financial aid to a corrupt leadership, subsidises the families of terrorist murderers, and continues to educate its children with anti-Jewish incitement. The position in Hamas- controlled Gaza is even worse.

Surely it is time for the Palestinian government to begin building its state, by using its funds to finance its infrastructure, industry and tourism. It is time for them to reject the constant spiral of self- destruction which has dogged their history for the past 100 years. Allow the people to participate in the economic potential of the whole area, and negotiate with Israel in a spirit of mutual peace and cooperation, and not perennial destruction. The Palestinian population will vote with its feet once it realises that it, too, can benefit from the prosperity being achieved by other peaceloving and progressive countries in the region.

Richard Kafton

London N3