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Since the signing of the Abraham Accords two and a half years ago, some 500,000 Israelis have traveled to the United Arab Emirates for diplomacy, business or to experience high-end luxury tourism in the Gulf state. Now, for the first time, an accredited undergraduate program is being offered at an Israeli university, giving students the chance to gain a deeper understanding of what their new regional ally is all about.
The course, titled “The Geopolitics of the UAE,” began on Sunday at Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, delve into the history of the economic powerhouse, exploring its unique physical geography and influence in turbulent regions. The course also looks at the subtle makeup of the country’s people—from native Arab tribes to transnational foreign residents—and the political policies and philosophies that turn them into friends of Israel.
“The Abraham Accords are only a small part of the curriculum,” Moranzaga, the program’s founder and one of the few Israeli researchers in the UAE, told jewish insider.
Instead, she continued, “The core question we will explore is the stable foundations of the United Arab Emirates, where we will learn about the country’s physical geography, social geography, history and the tribes that make up its population, the structure of its political authority and its political and economic principles.”
Zaga, a political geographer and expert on the Arabian Gulf, said her interest in the UAE began in 2005 as an undergraduate at Tel Aviv University. As the holder of a foreign passport—except her Israeli passport—she was given the rare opportunity to visit Israel despite having no diplomatic relations with it, and have been researching it ever since.
“I know the country very well and really fell in love with it,” she said.
While the normalization deal announced by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain in August 2020 came as a surprise to much of the world, for Zaga, who has studied the Gulf Federation for nearly 15 years, the warming of relations was a natural progression.
But, Zaga told JI, she immediately understood that there was a big gap in what Israelis knew about their new ally.
“Besides the Abraham Accords, there is a gap in Israel’s understanding of the UAE,” explained Zaga, who was suddenly invited by business leaders and government officials to share her unique insights into the country.
“I try to share as much as possible,” she said. “Israelis really don’t know anything about the country – most people think Dubai is the country and I try really hard to close the knowledge gap.”
In addition to educating people in the fields of diplomacy, politics and business, Zaga wanted to share her knowledge with other Israelis and started reaching out to universities in the country to see if they would be interested in offering a course specifically about the UAE.
“Universities in Israel take a very conservative approach to research in the Gulf countries,” explains Zaga. “Most of the courses offered are centered in Saudi Arabia, and the UAE is just a by-product of that.”
Her offer to create and teach a UAE-specific course was rejected by various educational institutions until she reached out to a renowned Israeli professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies Eli Pod at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Podeh, a senior fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace and a board member of Mitvim, Israel’s regional foreign policy institute, firmly believes Julia Rabinovichchair of the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, to realize Zaga’s dream and include this semester’s class.
On Sunday, Zaga excitedly tweets A picture of a class with the words “FULL”. She told JI that 35 students were enrolled and there was already a long waiting list.
“I was delighted to see the interest and love of the subject yesterday among the students,” she said. “Not only did it fulfill my own dreams, but it also showed me that I’m not alone in wanting to learn more about this country.”
The course, which will now meet weekly, will include field visits to the Israeli foreign ministry and meetings with Emiratis and others working in the field, Zaga said.
“We will trace the history of the country chronologically and thematically, we will examine its society, economy and politics,” Zaga described. “In addition, we will examine the UAE’s geopolitical relationship with other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as its relationship with the United States and China.”
Asher Fredman, Israel Director of the Abraham Accord Institute for Peace, told JI that a long-term partnership between the UAE and Israel needs to be based not only on trade and technology, but also “on a deep understanding of each other’s history and heritage.”
“The introduction of Emirati courses at the Hebrew University is a very positive step that will enable Israeli students to better appreciate Emirati culture, as well as the country’s impressive development in modern times,” he added.
Launching the course this week, Zaga said she asked students — including secular Israelis, Arabs and even some soldiers — why they signed up.
“They all said, ‘We know this is an important country, but we don’t know anything about it,'” Zaga recalls. “They said they were interested in understanding how a country as small as the UAE had such a big influence in the region, how it achieved economic success and its population.”
There were also a lot of questions about patriotism in the Gulf states, and as part of the first lesson, Zagah played the national anthem of the UAE,’Ishi Biradi‘(Long live my country), to her students.
“It was touching to hear the UAE national anthem played in Jerusalem in a classroom at the Hebrew University,” she concluded.
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