SPECIAL ENVOY RICKMAN HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR TOLERANCE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABU DHABI 000892

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM IS AE
SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENVOY RICKMAN HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR TOLERANCE TO
COMBAT ANTI-SEMTISM

Classified by Charge d'Affaires Martin Quinn, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

(U) This is a joint Abu Dhabi - Dubai cable.

Summary
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1. (SBU) Summary: Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
Gregg Rickman took the opportunity of a July 21-24 visit to the UAE
to stress the need for tolerance, interfaith engagement, and a
balanced portrayal of Jews in the press and media. Citing examples
of anti-Semitism and the damage done by biased representations of
another's faith, he stressed the distinction between political satire
and religious intolerance, asking interlocutors to help spread a
message of interfaith engagement. Interlocutors shared views on
(their perceived) high levels of tolerance in the Arab media,
Arab-Israeli engagement on the economic front, and the hope of
enhanced cooperation between faiths.


2. (C) Comments follow in the order that meetings were held. SEAS
Rickman was told that UAE economic engagement with Israel was already
underway, albeit quietly. Officials from Al Arabiya cited their
networks pioneering work in moderating speech by hosting Israeli
officials on-air, avoiding the religiously-loaded term "martyr" when
describing "Arabs killed by Israelis," building bridges rather than
combating western media. (One lamented that the recent prisoner swap
had made heroes of Hezbollah, contrary to the Al Arabiya goal of
combating extremism.) In a discussion of Jews in Iran, the Iran
Regional Presence Office (IRPO) Director noted that restrictions
placed on Iran's Jews are not significantly different than
restrictions placed on the population at large, that the Iranian
Jewish community does not have a cohesive political agenda, and that
IRPO seeks ongoing contacts through which to monitor conditions in
Iran.


3. (C) Director of the Zayed House for Islamic Culture explained
Islamic traditions of tolerance, a theme echoed by the MFA. Emirati
tolerance has developed over centuries of trade with outsiders of
diverse religious persuasion, said MFA's Ambassador Al Zarouni, and
continues today as the UAE hosts millions of guest workers without
interfering in their religious practices. Deflecting the question of
building a synagogue in the UAE, Zarouni said the UAE had no Jewish
population and cited peace between Israel and Palestine as a
prerequisite to full normalization which might facilitate the
building of a Jewish house of worship. The Director General of the
National Media Council stressed that criticism of Israel is political
and not anti-Jewish -- UAE law forbids attacks on the heavenly
religions. He also took issue with the word "anti-Semitism,"
suggesting that a full resolution to intolerance towards the Semitic
peoples must address bias against the Arabs. End summary.

Dubai School of Government
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4. (C) During a wide-ranging discussion at the Dubai School of
Government, visiting Fellow Jim Krane mused that on economic issues
the UAE and Israel work together, albeit quietly. He said many
Israelis are active traders on the Dubai Diamond Exchange, for
example, although he speculated most are likely dual nationals
entering/departing the UAE on their non-Israeli passports. He also
pointed out a recent joint venture between DPWorld (a subsidiary of
parastatal Dubai World) and Israel's Zim Ports (a subsidiary of Zim
Integrated Shipping Services) to acquire Contarsa, the container
terminal operator at Spain's Tarragona Port.

MBC Group and Al Arabiya
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5. (SBU) Emphasizing efforts to advance a moderate message on
Israel, Al Arabiya Program Editor Antoine Aoun described how Middle
East Broadcasting Center (MBC, the parent organization of Al Arabiya)
started breaking taboo's in 1991 by becoming the first Arab network
to host Israeli officials on-air. He noted the network's policy to
avoid the term "martyr" when describing "Arabs killed by Israelis,"
contrary to the common practice in Arab press and media, stressing Al
Arabiya's desire to deliver moderate messages which do not "give a
very big space to the extremists." Mazen Hayek, Group Director of
Marketing, PR and Commercial, said MBC's goal is to build bridges,
adding that MBC was the first network to bring American news and
programming to the Arab TV screen.


6. (SBU) Najib Bencherif, Head of Assignments at Al Arabiya,
commented that fighting extremism and fanaticism is, in effect,
fighting against anti-Semitism. While acknowledging anti-Semitism in
the Arab world, he insisted that Al Arabiya's job is "not to include
it in our reporting." He said the news channel has two Arab-Israeli
correspondents and one producer covering Israel-Palestinian issues
from Jerusalem.


7. (C) Turning to the recent Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner exchange,
Hayek (a Lebanese national) bemoaned the exclusion of the Lebanese
government from the exchange, opining that Israel had effectively

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made Hezbollah "into heroes" in the eyes of the Lebanese street,
reversing, in his opinion, what had been a downward spiral in public
opinion regarding Hezbollah.

Iran's Jewish Population
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8. (C) Iran Regional Presence Office Director Ramin Asgard
emphasized that irrespective of Iranian President Ahmedinejad's
grandstanding on Israel, restrictions placed on the Iranian Jewish
community are not significantly different than restrictions placed on
the population at large. (Note: Jews constitute roughly 25-30,000 of
the 60 million Iranian population and are demographically similar to
the overall population, i.e., predominantly under 30 years of age.
End note.) While there are limits on school matriculation, high
level government and military jobs, etc., these same restrictions are
generally felt by all minority populations in Iran (with the Ba'hai
bearing the brunt of uniquely onerous restrictions). Furthermore,
the Iranian Jewish community does not currently have a cohesive
political agenda based upon its Jewish identity, and tends to be
generally nationalistic in its views on regional issues.


9. (C) The MP representing Iran's Jewish community, Morris Motamed,
has nonetheless spoken out forcefully when the Iranian government has
made negative statements about Jewish history and culture - including
a press conference he called to specifically condemn President
Ahmadinejad's comments on the Holocaust. (Note: Motamed has been a
primary contact for IRPO's monitoring of conditions for the Jewish
community in Iran. He was replaced this year upon the election of
Siamak Morsadegh, with whom IRPO has not yet made contact but will
continue to reach out to. End note.) Asgard noted that IRPO
closely monitors the conditions of the Jewish community and other
religious minorities as part of our mandate to draft the annual
International Religious Freedom Report and Human Rights Report.

Zayed House for Islamic Culture
--------------


10. (U) In the traditional inland town of Al Ain, Khaled Al
Marzouki, Director General of the Zayed House for Islamic Culture,
explained that his center had originally opened in 1983 to welcome
new converts to Islam but in 2005 its mission was expanded to include
outreach to non-Muslims and cultural and Arabic language instruction
to the increasing expatriate population. The center also provides
specialized programs, which in the past have included a six-week
training opportunity in 2007 for a delegation of American Imams.
Asked how Zayed House addresses Jewish issues, Marzouki said "we
don't talk about Jews specifically--but about all religions." He
continued: "All religions on earth are humans and brothers. We tell
people [you] must deal with them as [you] deal with Muslims." He
said teachings sought to avoid "the impression that there is a
difference between us and them."

MFA
---


11. (SBU) MFA's Ali Al Zarouni, former Ambassador to Germany and
current Director of the Office of American and European Affairs,
emphasized the Emirati, Arab, and Islamic traditions of tolerance
toward Jews and Judaism. Zarouni explained that Emirati tolerance
has developed over centuries of trade with outsiders of diverse
religious persuasion (including Hindus with which Islam has little in
common). The economic necessity of tolerance continues today with
the millions of guest workers living in the UAE (who he noted are not
asked to identify their religion upon entry to the UAE). Zarouni
went so far as to attribute the UAE's prosperity to its tolerance of
foreigners and their ways.


12. (SBU) Citing the prophet Mohammed's many teachings about
tolerance and caring for Christian and Jewish brethren, Zarouni said
these included the Prophet's comment to his wife before eating: "Did
you send food to our Jewish neighbor?" Mohammed prohibited his
followers from killing Jews, continued Zarouni, and many caliphs had
Jewish advisors. Islamic history unfolds with Muslims friendly to
their non-Muslim colleagues most of the time. (Comment: Zarouni
filled much of the meeting with historic examples of Islamic
tolerance of Jews rather than citing specific examples from the
present or from the UAE. End comment).


13. (C) Asked about the possibility of a synagogue in the UAE,
Zarouni responded that there was not a Jewish community here, noting
that Abu Dhabi has a Hindu temple and numerous Christian churches (to
which the government apportions land free of charge) to service the
non-Muslim expatriate community. Pressed again about a synagogue,
Zarouni reiterated generalities of Islam's tolerance of Jews, but
then said: "We have to first work for the peace process between
Palestine and Israel. This will lead to the normalizing of the whole
thing. Maybe then you will bring your family and have a synagogue
here."

National Media Council
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14. (SBU) Ibrahim Al Abed, Director General of the National Media
Council (and thus a media gate-keeper),stressed that any criticism
of Israel in the UAE was political and not directed toward Jews. He
claimed an absence of anti-Jewish or anti-Judaism material in the
press, while acknowledging criticism of Israel and Zionism. In fact,
he said, he said UAE law does not permit press attacks on the three
"heavenly" religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Reminded
that opposition to Zionism can easily slip into the realm of
anti-Jewish and therefore become anti-Semitic, Al Abed chose to
disagree. He cited a Muslim statement from the recent
Saudi-sponsored interfaith dialogue conference in Spain explaining
that opposition to Zionism is a political matter and that Muslims
have nothing against the Jewish people or religion.


15. (SBU) Al Abed also took issue with the word "anti-Semitism," as
others had done, claiming that Arabs are also Semitic and questioning
whether the Special Envoy would investigate anti-Arabism. Al Abed
suggested that the best way to combat anti-Semitism would be to
broaden its scope to include intolerance of Arabs, as he saw the
issue more as one of hatred and scapegoating than one of
anti-Jewishness alone. Al Abed reiterated that the UAE press is
often critical of Israel (as are many foreign papers widely read in
the UAE) but not of Jews or Judaism, and that the UAEG would not
censor this material. Similarly, European papers did not censor
cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. However, the UAE would not allow
its press to incite extremism or terrorism, he concluded.

Comment
--------------


16. (SBU) The Special Envoy's visit was an opportunity to emphasize
the importance of religious tolerance, with a focus on countering
anti-Semitic portrayals in the media, education, and commerce. UAE
interlocutors, while sharing forthright views suggesting confidence
that tolerance was already at an acceptable level, were nonetheless
reminded of the need for ongoing vigilance in keeping public
discourse free of hate speech and religious bias. End comment.


17. (U) SEAS Rickman approved this message.

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