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February 25, 2009
The Threat To Israel From Dubai Is On A Par With Iran
Although it was reprehensible that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) refused to give Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer an entry visa for a WTA-sanctioned tournament and the world stood idly by, there might be a silver lining to the whole episode. It could serve as a wake-up call to remind the world of the dangers that the UAE poses to Israel -- while most of the international attention is focused on Iran.Goldman notes that while the threat from Dubai is financial, it is no less serious a threat to Israel and its economy:
While it makes for great newspaper headlines when Netanyahu proclaims that "it is 1939 all over again" with regard to Iran, I am equally concerned that landmark days in Israeli history like February 17, 1982, will stop happening. February 17 was the date that the first Israeli company, Teva Pharmaceuticals, went public on the Nasdaq exchange. This exchange is now partially Arab controlled. If the Arab boycott were extended to the Nasdaq, the Israeli economy would lose an important source of capital.The threat is real when you look at the numbers--and it has nothing to do with Sharia law and Islamic finance:
Where does the Dubai purchase of the Nasdaq leave Israel? The total market capitalization of Israeli companies on the NASDAQ is approximately $50 billion (pre market crash). Israel is the number one foreign issuer with a total of 90 companies. The Nasdaq, in appreciation of the value of Israeli companies on the exchange, currently defrays some of the cost of listing for Israeli companies. In addition, the Nasdaq holds Israeli Company Day to introduce Israeli stocks to institutional investors. With Arab owners, it is doubtful that these activities will continue during flush times.The threat from Dubai goes beyond the exchanges--there are other puchases that Dubai has made whose import apparently is going unnoticed:
The logical Israeli response would be to turn to the London Stock Exchange (LSE). But we will be blocked there also. In a related transaction, the Nasdaq sold Borse Dubai a 28% stake in the LSE. The government of Qatar also bought a 24% stake in the LSE at the same time. Israeli companies now face the prospect of listing on an exchange that is almost 50% owned by Arabs.
...Some may underestimate the threat of Arab ownership of the exchanges to Israel. Hi-tech is Israel's oil. Israel's version of oil needs capital to operate. Although there are several ways to access capital, the public stock markets have proven the most effective at maximizing the value of businesses in Israel. The effect of the reduced access to capital will not be limited to the hi-tech sector in Israel. If hi-tech in Israel catches a sniffle, the Israeli government budget comes down with the flu. [emphasis added]
The bad news from Dubai is not finished. The government of Abu Dubai purchased a 7.5% stake in the private equity firm the Carlyle Group, well-known for its ownership of defense contractors. The many defense contractors controlled by the Carlyle Group could refuse to use Israeli subcontractors in deference to Abu Dhabi. In 2006, defense exports from Israel totaled $4.4 billion. Even worse, the government of Dubai could block the IDF from purchasing weapons vital to Israel's defense from these military suppliers. They will also have the direct access to purchase them for their own defense.
The Carlyle group, with a Jewish David Rubinstein at the helm, is already participating in the Arab boycott without recriminations from the rest of the world. Carlyle has established a Middle East fund to invest in the region that will exclude investment in Israel. The New York Times sanguinely reports that sources close to the fundraising for this fund say that it would be next to impossible to raise money from other Middle East countries if Israel was one of the countries in the Middle East fund.
Hezbollah in passive voice
A cynical and mistrusted offer
Wapo: peace process succeeding because of the great work of the administration
Council speak 100610
Nyt: peace process failing despite the great work of the administration
Do we have enough regulations yet?
Iranian General: "US, Mossad played roles in 9/11 event"
Absolving arafat, ten years later
Rahm can't run? antisemites!
The politics of peace
I have rarely read such complete nonsense. The UAE is a thriving, open-society where 80% of the working population are expatriates from all over the globe. It is liberal in its outlook and provided non-Muslims do not indulge in behaviour that is openly offensive to the cultural and religious tradition of the populace, there is no discrimination.
The UAE is an economic miracle thanks to the forward-looking ruling families who have created the most amazing cities and infrastructures anywhere on the planet. NY and LA eat your heart out! The media is comprehensively fair and unbiased in its reporting of world affairs and it offers more than six daily newspapers all of unusually high standard. And the UAE is highly, highly successful! Perhaps Ms Goldman is just a little jealous of that success, or perhaps she is just another blogger for Israel.
Does she even know that the UAE is the single largest market in the world for cut diamonds? If so, I wonder where she thinks that these gemstones are imported from �.
Wake up little Susie, wake up!
Posted by: Charles Vaird at February 25, 2009 4:00 PMSusie is wide awake.
Besides her point about Dubai not allowing an Israeli tennis player in (a policy it maintains towards all Israelis), she notes that the "open society" of Dubai is still maintaining the Arab Boycott:
Although the UAE might be quieter about it, the Arab League boycott of Israel is very much in effect there. The Jerusalem Post reported on their telephone conversation with Muhammad Rashid Adin, a member of the Dubai Customs Department�s Office for the Boycott of Israel. �Yes, of course, the boycott is still in place and is still enforced. If a product contained even some components that were made in Israel, and you wanted to import it to Dubai, it would be a problem.�
The economic accomplishments of Dubai which you insist on mentioning are, of course, irrelevant.
Posted by: Daled Amos at February 25, 2009 4:10 PMWhy are you shilling for the uae charles vaird? Do you have business there or are you directly paid to shill for it? Why would Ms. Goldman be jealous of the supposed success of the UAE. Israel, considering it doesn't have the natural resource of oil is quite economically successful in its own right and is among the world leaders in hi-tech, science and medical advancements.
As for your claim that Ms. Goldman is a blogger for Israel, I always find that those who are loudest in proclaiming someone to be in the pocket of the Israelis are themselves in the pockets of the arabs. Take chas freeman, for example.
Furthermore what is liberal and openminded about barring an Israeli tennis player and participating in the arab boycott against Israel? But what are having principles and morals compared to making a ton of profits for greedy, degenerate westerners like yourself.
Posted by: Laura at February 25, 2009 8:07 PMAs a corrective to Vaird's glowing description of the UAE, you can read this in the NYT:
Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down
...real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai's six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. � So many used luxury cars are for sale, they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai's roads, usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear.
More at Daniel Pipes in his post: Dubai's Dramatic Drop
Maybe 'little Susie' is not the one who is sleeping...
Posted by: Daled Amos at February 26, 2009 12:45 AMwhy dosnt laura rumsfeild go have a life n stop being a zionist dude
Posted by: michael chandler at March 2, 2009 9:22 PM