20 | DECEMBER 2 • 2021 

OUR COMMUNITY

The groundbreaking diplomacy between Israel 
and a number of its Arab neighbors, long sworn 
enemies, overturned traditional thinking in the 
region, leading to new chapters of economic activ-
ity, security cooperation, cultural partnerships and 
expanding Jewish life. 
At the heart of these tectonic shifts are people 
fostering change and building bridges in ways never 
thought possible. And I got to see and experience it 
firsthand last month. 
I was joined by eight other young professionals 
from Detroit, and a handful of peers from the U.S. 
and Israel who explored this transformative narra-

Local leaders travel to the UAE on a JDC Entwine mission.
From Detroit to Dubai

ADAM FINKEL CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A

s I sat down to write this piece, another historic first occurred: Israel, the 
U.S., Bahrain and the UAE held joint military exercises together. This 
moment is but one of many over 15 months of near-miraculous progress 
since the launch of the Abraham Accords. 

tive in the UAE. We saw an emerging Jewish com-
munity full of possibility, through the lens of shared 
responsibility.

NEXTGen Detroit helped to organize the trip 
run by Entwine, the young professionals’ plat-
form of the American Jewish Joint Distribution 
Committee (JDC). Tomer Moked, director of 
NEXTGen Detroit, said the trip came on the heels 
of a virtual experience organized by Entwine during 
the pandemic for young professionals in the com-
munity to have an immersive visit to see Jewish life 
in Morocco. 
“We knew it would be incredibly interesting to 
make connections between Detroit and other global 
Jewish communities,” Moked shared. “The idea to 

1: Majed Alseyabi of 
the UAE, center, joins 
Roman Golshteyn 
and Adam Finkel of 
Detroit. Alseyabi also 
joined several hundred 
Russian Jews visiting 
the UAE over Shabbat.

2: Warren Frenkel, 
Shimon Gal Levy and 
Adam Finkel of Detroit 
with Ambassador 
Houda Nonoo of 
Bahrain. Ambassador 
Nonoo was the first 
Jewish ambassador 
from the Arab region.

3: The Entwine 
delegation visited with 
one of the last few 
Jewish families that 
immigrated to the UAE 
from Yemen.

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