A search indicates that Israelis are not permitted to enter the UAE. Would a person of Jewish descent (but not religion) from another country be able to visit?
My mother went recently to speak. Dubai has ridiculous amounts of money and they show it off to a great degree. They welcome Americans if you are one. My mother tells me that it is easier to get around than most European cities and they like Americans. It is the Arab equivalent of Las Vegas.
How would they even know unless one wore a prayer shawl or yarmulke? Do they actually ask one’s religion on the visa application?
I’ll ask the two Dubaians I know. My feeling is that most tourists, and their money, are very welcome in Dubai.
Better yet, in 2006 Jewish jockey David Cohen won the 2 million dollar Dubai Golden Shaheen at Dubai’s Nad al Sheba Racecourse.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/community_briefs/article/cohen_jockeys_for_position_in_racing_20041015/
http://archive.gulfnews.com/indepth/dubaiworldcup/more_stories/10028385.html
No problems at all. I would not be overtly pro-Israel, but otherwise, don’t worry about it.
“I know a couple of Jewish residents here, and I haven’t heard of any mistreatment. If your friend has been to Israel, they’ll need to get a new passport if they have a stamp, but they might be aware of that if they’re seriously planning on visiting. Your gut reaction is correct”
So, there you have it.
Just to clear one thing up; being a Jew is not a faux pas in most of the muslim world (being Israeli is another matter). I am constantly surprised by the amount of ignorance about muslims on this forum and more than a little disturbed at the insistance of some to perpetuate that ignorance.
Faux pas is a social blunder, like using the wrong spoon or like asking a paralized person to stand up and take a bow. Whether being a Jew or an Israeli would have negative consequences or not it would not be a “faux pas” (false step in French).
If you look at the embassy for the UAE it says “all American citizens are able to enter the UAE, subject to laws etc etc.” Elsewhere it says that Jews are not permitted to enter the country. It seems vague at best if they are swapping Jew and Israeli.
Even such places like Iran guarantee Jews and Christians the right to worship though in practice this is not so, to a large degree.
Also the OP was somewhat vague. Even non-Muslims have went to Mecca and Medina where non-Muslims are forbidden. As long as you can blend in there’s no issue but I don’t know if that is what the OP was really asking. Going to the UAE and being Jewish or going to the UAE being Jewish and hiding it once you’re there.
Muslim persecution of Jews in Iraq is way down. There were 150,000 Jews living in Iraq back in 1948. Today there are only 10, and they don’t want to leave.
Yes, a very few have. Maybe 25 in the last five hundred years. But nearly all of the Westerners who’ve been to Mecca had either already converted to Islam or did so in disguise as a Muslim. It’s not an easy thing to do, and currently the Saudi government refuses visas to Meccas to non-Muslims. Here’s a pretty good account of Westerners who’ve done so.
My dad knew a Sikh British-Indian army soldier who visited Mecca in 1942. He spoke Arabic fluently and nobody questioned him.
I am muslim. I can’t go to Mecca; unless its on pilgrimage. You want to go to Mecca; say you want to do a pilgrimage; no problem.
Lost of non muslims have visited Mecca since 630 AD. The founder of Sikhism did for instance stayed there for two or three years.
To answer the OP, yes perfectly safe if you are Jewish. As for being “open” well I did not hear of any synagouges being there, but I did see see several tourists wearing the Yarmulk.
Source: Lived there for a while.
The owner (or co-owner) of the billion dollar Atlantis hotel recently inaugurated is Jewish.
On second thought, going to Dubai may not be as practical if one is from Israel:
Note that Peer was refused entry due to security concerns (at least, that was the claim).
FWIW, my dad’s best friend is a Jew and splits most of his time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi (the “second” Emirate).
Really?
Within the past week, the BBC had a news article on African Judaists being evacuated to Israel because of persecution. Of course, now I can’t find it (the half-bottle of wine inside me may have something to do with that 
).
Since he said, “most of the Muslim world”, yes, really.