Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Shir Alon

Shir Alon is an associate professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Minnesota.

The Business of Culture — Construction cranes at the Zayed National Museum and Natural History Museum sites on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2024. Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

UAE

The Business of Culture

A Review of Beth Derderian's ‘Art Capital: Museum Politics and the Making of the Louvre Abu Dhabi'

Shir Alon • 9 min read

Identity and Cultural Diplomacy of the Abraham Accords — Rabbi Levi Duchman performs morning prayers on the roof of the Jewish Community Center of the UAE in Dubai, 2021. Andrea DiCenzo/Getty Images

Issue 315-316

Identity and Cultural Diplomacy of the Abraham Accords

In December 2020, three months after the Abraham Accords were signed enabling the first commercial flights between Israel and the UAE, a short video went modestly viral on Israeli twitter. A man in a white dishdasha and ghutra introduces his friends to the camera as curious bystanders look on. They

Shir Alon • 14 min read