Wednesday, November 28, 2007

First Israeli store to open in Dubai

Came across this article while reading the Angry Arab's blog (good blog by the way):

First Israeli store to open in Dubai

The ml men's clothing chain which specializes in large sizes will be opening a store in Dubai
in the near future, making it the first Israeli brand to reach the Arab emirate.
Opening the Dubai branch will bring the clothing brand back on the international scene, after other overseas stores have failed.
It was reported by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on Thursday that ml signed a distribution agreement with a French company which specializes in marketing large-size fashion lines.
The French company signed a deal with the Albulug Company owned by one of Dubai's wealthiest families to open an ml chain in Dubai.
In the fist stage of the deal, ml will open four stores with an average area of 100 square meters in prestigious shopping centers and leading malls.
Ml will invest some $1.5 million in its Dubai stores.

10 comments:

ButterflyBahrain said...

Hey! we missed you where have you been? :)

Regarding the Israeli store, I am not surprised at all. Today UAE and tomorrow Qatar. Its a matter of time before we see more Israeli stores in all GCC states!

SoulSearch said...

That is truly appalling. Where has the Arab concious gone? I could just imagine all the merchandise in that store full of Palestinian blood. I guess its now "cosmopolitan" to include Israel in your malls... Way to go Dubai.
Peace to Palestine,
SS

Gardens of Sand said...

Butterfly Bahrain, thanks for stopping by! I know I haven't been blogging, I keep saying I will I should and somehow time just flies. I promise to do better!

Soul Search: As BB, I am not surprised. It's disgusting really. I bet you though that this wouldn't fly in Bahrain. At least I am hoping it wouldn't...

Anonymous said...

What are you people on about?

To consider Israel the worst enemy is the biggest illusion act ever.

We stuff up, we blame Israel. Amal and Hamas kill the crap out of each other, we still blame Israel. Everyone has been using Israel as a scapegoat for such a long time, that it is starting to seem so obvious that Israel is only a minor scar in the Middle East.

For once, let us look at ourselves and go "yes, we're stuffed."

We won't move forward until the admission comes from the Arabs.
-----------------------------

Also, away from Israel, Bahrain is the prostitution hub of the GCC, no one speaks about that. Or do they?

Gardens of Sand said...

Evil, there are many ppl that blame Israel and USA for all the problems that Arabs face today. I think that many of our problems are internal and that unless we admit that + start doing something about it, we will continue our downward's spiral.

I do not hate nor dislike any Jew; infact, I consider them as an example that most ppl in the world would benefit from by learning a thing or two from them.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the Israelis to all just pack up and leave. You cant rewind history. But it is reasonable to expect and DEMAND that Israel withdraw to the 1967 lines and dismantle the illegal settlements + stop their encroachment. Until that happens there will not be any viable chance for a Palestine.

So my friend, yes I am against trade and normalization with Israel until they start cooperating and really trying to make coexistence work.

On the other topic,many folks at least ones I know complain about all the prostitutes in Bahrain. But IMHO the prostitution hub as you termed it seems to be an official policy directed towards increase tourism.

Ammaro said...

whether we like it or not, that is the future. the backing they have behind them ensures it, and even now, youre probably using israeli products (or by-products, at least) without your knowledge

Um Naief said...

i see nothing wrong w/ Israeli stores opening up in this part of the world.

really, what's the big deal?

ppl need to get over thinking that these clothes have blood on them! these ppl aren't killing others. all Israeli's aren't bad ppl. just like all muslims aren't bad ppl!!!! all american's aren't bad ppl!!!

wake up and lighten up!

Gardens of Sand said...

Hmmm, Um Naeif, let me ask you this: would you be comfortable trading with a country that occupies a part of the US?

Say Russia reclaims Alaska, illegaly ofcourse since the US purchased it. So Russia takes over Alaska and starts driving Alaskans out of their homes citing that there are 49 other US states that Alaskans can relocate to and that Alaska originially belonged to Russia.

While you wouldn't advocate the killing of all Russians or the annihilation of Russia and while you know some very friendly and decent Russians, would you be ok with your government maintaining friendly terms with Russia's government and carrying on with business as usual like the displaced Alaskans and occupied Alaskan land mean nothing? Even if Russia withdrew, don't you think it would be sometime before all relations are normalized and both countries trade freely?

Though the Arab countries are not a federation nor a republic, they are still linked together, like an informal, dysfunctional version of the US. So as long as Isreal occupies Palestinian land, normalization shouldn't happen.

The big deal is that Israel is displacing my fellow Palestinians and occuping their land. Though I am not Palestinian, I am an Arab and would object and feel the matter close to my heart as a Texan would feel if Alaskan land were occupied.

It isn't about all Israelis or Americans or Muslims being bad. And it isn't about being all closed up.

America would probably forcibly remove the Russian presence from Alaska. While I do not advocate Arabs do that to Israel (nor do I think they can), I believe that we have to take a stand, even if it is something as simple as no trade with Israel until it withdraws back to the 1967 line. It really is the least we can do.

Gardens of Sand said...

Ammaro, as long as it is without my knowledge then..... And yes, Israel is here to stay and I am not advocating any violence against it. However, the simplist and easiest stand we can take is not normalize relations and abstain from trade with Israel. Why should we anyway? What is the pressing need?

Anonymous said...

Here's a better solution. How about we allow the store to open, and then make a point by not buying from it?

Expenses incurred by them, money injected in GCC economy, poor sales and no profit for them. We win, they lose. After milking them for a few years, they'll shut their businesses anyway.

You see, the issue is business, and if you want to have a political agenda in business, then you have to fight it out business-style. No demonstrations, no violence. All you need to ensure is that they don't make sales - trust me, it will hurt more than anything else :)

It's all about thinking out of the box, and we don't do much of that.