the greatest thing about dubai has always been its rich mix of cultures, nationalities and religions. the day after i got back from zanzibar my sis and i went out for breakfast at a new friend’s bakery.

she came over to us excitedly as soon as we’d ordered. this place is incredible she starts. she’s jewish, she explains, and a few months ago she met a jewish family who advise the royal family in dubai. they had bumbed into each other a few days earlier at a shopping mall where the jewish family had just bought matzo! from the organic foods marke! they invited her to passover seder at their place where she mingled with locals, jews, arabs and other dubai expatriate tribes while the haggadah was read out.

we still have a long way to go in dubai towards being a truly accepting, inclusive society (recognizing israel would be a nice first step) but the dubai society is as usual two steps ahead of the silly political grandstanding.

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