H EADLINES
BUSINESS DIRECTORY
ISRAELBRIEFS UAE Visits Popular With Israelis
MORE THAN 50,000 ISRAELIS have visited the United Arab
Emirates since the nation’s normalization pact with Israel, JTA
reported, citing a Washington Post article.

Th at number came aft er only two weeks of open commercial
fl ights between the countries, which signed their agreement in
August. Th ousands more were expected to visit during Chanukah.

Th e Post report said the Jewish community center in the capital
of Dubai is increasing its staff from fi ve to “about 30” employees
— and that nearly 150 restaurants are now serving kosher food. A
mikvah is planned “befi tting Dubai’s luxury standards.”
“It will probably be the nicest mikvah in the world,” said
Rabbi Mendel Duchman, who works for the JCC.

Israelis Skeptical of COVID-19 Vaccines
Just 40% of Israelis polled by the Jerusalem-based Israel
Democracy Institute said they were willing to participate in the
fi rst round of COVID-19 vaccinations, JTA reported.

Of those 40%, half said they were convinced they would agree
to vaccinations, while the remainder said they thought they
would agree.

“People are afraid that because the vaccine hasn’t been tested
for as long as other vaccines that were developed in the past that
maybe we don’t know everything about the long-term eff ects,”
said Dr. Or Anabi, an institute researcher.

In a separate poll conducted by Haifa University, “7.7 percent
of Jewish men, 29.4 percent of Arab men, 17.2 percent of Jewish
women and 41.2 percent of Arab women would refuse the vaccine
under any circumstances.”
Israel has ordered millions of vaccine doses, which were
developed jointly by Pfi zer and BioNTech
Israel Formalizes Ties with Bhutan, Morocco
Israel formalized ties to both Bhutan and Morocco, JTA reported.

Bhutan, a small Buddhist majority Himalayan kingdom,
already had informal and cordial ties with Israel, including
receiving agricultural training from Israel since the 1980s. Th e
country’s constitutional monarchy is known for policies eschewing
materialism in favor of seeking “gross national happiness.”
In addition, Morocco announced it will recognize Israel,
making it the fourth Arab country this year to do so, joining
the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. Israel also has
relations with Egypt and Jordan.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI has a Jewish adviser and
the country opened a Jewish culture center earlier this year.

Th ere are approximately 3,000 Jews in Morocco, down from the
200,000 who lived there before Israel’s establishment. Morocco
also grows etrogs, the citrus fruit Jews use ritually on the holiday
of Sukkot, and have exported them to Israel.

Poverty in Israel Up Sharply Because of Pandemic
Israeli poverty has increased by more than 50% since the
pandemic began, Globes reported, citing a report by poverty and
food insecurity nongovernmental organization Latet.

Th e percentage of households living in economic distress
climbed from 24.1% to 38.6%. Th e number of families living
below the poverty line increased to 850,000 (29.3%) compared to
582,000 a year earlier.

Th e report concluded that only 25% of Israeli households “are
doing fi ne economically.” ●
Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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