JERUSALEM // One of the world's most celebrated - and surely its most contentious - cities attracts about three million tourists each year. But you would not know it from the cash register in Ahmad Rizeq's grocery.
Each day, Mr Rizeq is lucky if a single tourist in Jerusalem's bustling Old City crosses the threshold of his shop, even though it is only metres from the Haram Al Sharif, Islam's third-holiest site.
"We're in a sorry state of affairs here," lamented Mr Rizeq, 62, whose shop on a street known as the Khalidiya Ascent has been in the family for 36 years.
The history of Jerusalem is in part a story of successive conquests and occupations starting more than 3,000 years ago. The latest occurred in 1967, with the seizure of the Old City by Israel.
The main instruments of securing the latest conquest are not sword, fire and crucifixion as they have been in past millennia, but tax levies, tour guides and encroaching Jewish settlers.
The result for Mr Rizeq and other residents of the Old City's Muslim quarter is a community that feels like a dying neighbourhood. Businesses have steadily gone bust because of what Jerusalem's 275,000 Palestinian residents have long decried as deliberate Israeli obstacles designed to stifle them.
As if he needed a reminder of his dire financial straits, Mr Rizeq has let his unpaid tax bills of more than 10,000 shekels (Dh9,996) pile up next to the store's checkout counter.
Adding insult to injury, he says, tourists who do pass by rarely seem to sympathise with the plight of everyday Palestinians, let alone show any understanding of it.
"It makes us sad to see so many visitors and know they have no idea about the pain we're experiencing," said Mr Rizeq. "We know they're told bad things about us by the tour guides, like we're terrorists or thieves or bad people. It's hurtful."
His street bears many hallmarks of a centuries-old feud that feels as if it could erupt into fighting at any moment.
Security cameras are installed overhead. Israeli soldiers with rifles slung over their shoulders stand watch nearby.
Increasingly, blue-and-white Israeli flags fly over the growing number of Palestinian homes that Jewish settlers acquire either through financial incentives or brute intimidation. No matter how great the pressure, though, the last thing Abed Natsheh, 49, and the vast majority of Palestinians here want is a return to the misery that accompanied the second intifada, which broke out in late September 2000.
The conflict's lull has created a situation where half the customers of his family's 85-year-old hardware store come from the neighbouring Jewish Quarter, a few metres up the street.
"They know they have a mutual interest to do business here, but we don't usually speak about politics," he said of their relationship, describing it as "transactional". "It's mostly them coming here and doing the business they've come to do, and that's it."
Still, Mr Natsheh says, he is astonished by a lack of understanding by his neighbours and Israelis in general of the challenges Palestinians in Jerusalem face.
He listed draconian restrictions that practically forbid them from building new homes, as well as impromptu tax-payment checkpoints erected by municipal officials that are often overseen by heavily armed security personnel.
"Some of them actually ask me: 'Hey, why is your stuff so cheap? Is it because you don't pay taxes?'," he said of his Jewish neighbours.
Yet roughly two-thirds of his revenue goes towards paying taxes.
"We try to explain this stuff to them, but they don't understand it," he said. "Sometimes I think they think our lives are as comfortable as theirs, that there is no pressure on us."
That is exactly how Daniel Saik, 34, an Israeli lawyer from Jerusalem, described the Palestinian condition in East Jerusalem's Old City.
"Look at these properties. They're probably high-value like establishments on Rothschild, in Tel Aviv," he said of that Israeli city's premier shopping and tourism boulevard.
Mr Saik and another Israeli, 34-year-old Yoni Youssef, were looking for a falafel restaurant recently when asked about the holy city's Palestinians.
"They're facing what young Israelis in Israel are facing. It's an expensive life for everyone in this country," he said, referring to the reasons that prompted demonstrations across Israel against rising living costs.
Some Palestinian merchants put part of the blame of this apparent lack of understanding on their own colleagues.
Lutfi Abu Omar, 60, has complained to neighbouring merchants about their preference for selling T-shirts and other mainly Jewish and Israeli items.
"Tourists who come here don't see enough of Palestine and its culture, which is a huge mistake by us," said Mr Abu Omar, who runs a jewellery shop in the Christian Quarter with his brother.
He prefers merchants sell Palestinian cultural amulets and clothing rather than, for example, T-shirts with Jewish-Israeli slogans, such as "Guns and Moses" or "Don't worry America: Israel is behind you". Sitting inside his struggling grocery, however, Mr Rizeq believes he is going above and beyond what any Palestinian should do to ensure the area's traditional character does not erode.
He said he has repeatedly declined generous offers from Jewish-settler organisations to buy his business.
"They see that my store is dying," he said. "They know I'm suffering, and that only gives them more incentive to come after me."
He is considering converting his store into a home for his brother rather than letting his business fold. While this would put him out of the job, it would at least reduce his monthly tax burden to a more manageable level.
"There's really not much else I can do," he said.
"Under this kind of pressure, there's not much that any of us can do."
hnaylor@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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SPECS
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HAJJAN
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
