I am writing in response to 'We need Emiratis teaching Emirati traditions at universities and colleges', FNC hears (December 22).
Teaching is not a highly paid career anywhere in the world. Instilling respect and desire for the profession is something the local community has the power to control.
The rest will follow. Suzanne Arruda-Wessel, Dubai
I totally agree about the idea of teaching Emirati traditions in UAE schools.
Everyone needs to know their ancestral histories, where they came from and how their nations began. Elizabeth Llorent, US
Smaller traders deserve a break
I have just read your article, Facebook traders 'breaking UAE law' (December 21).
It seems fair that these small traders are given an exemption. Make them legally bound to reveal sales and only require a licence if profits exceed a certain amount.
In this way, those businesses that remain small will be able to continue operating without having to pay licence fees.
Tina Saad, Abu Dhabi
Downsizing makes sense
I refer to your editorial, Downsizing is about doing more with less (December 19).
It can be a good decision for some expatriates to send their families back home if it means that they are then able to save money for their future.
Name withheld by request
See the fireworks for free
I was amused by your story Dubai rated most expensive city to see in the new year (December 23).
I will be spending New Year’s Eve in Dubai this year, but it’s funny how some people there are wearing the “most expensive” tag as a badge of honour.
There is no way I’m spending several hundred dirhams to sit in a franchise restaurant to watch the fireworks. There are better views from the roadside.
Samia Iftekhar, Abu Dhabi
People should be careful where they eat on New Year’s Eve. Some restaurants make you pay extra.
M Al Belooshi, Dubai
Omar takes a turn at tennis
Thank you for your online video featuring Omar Abdulrahman promoting the Mubadala World Tennis Championships.
Abdulrahman is the UAE’s best footballer.
Jeffrey Martin, Dubai
Investors have a right to choose
Your columnist Nima Abu Wardeh asks Is the profitable ETF bubble just an illusion? (December 24).
This is quite an interesting article but it skips over the freedom-of-choice argument.
The range of index funds one can choose to invest in is so much smaller than the much wider range of exchange traded funds that are available.
I often hear commentators say there are too many ETF. I am not so sure. Look on Amazon and see how many books people have written – yet nobody would ever suggest that people should stop writing books.
If investors want more ETFs, let them have them. Like all business models, if the providers of these products cannot run at a profit then they will cease to operate. That’s business.
Allan Lane, UK
Students suffer Israel backlash
Israel continues to defy world opinion by violating the internationally adopted Geneva Conventions on Human Rights in the Occupied Territories of the Palestinian West Bank, along with Arab East Jerusalem and Syrian Golan Heights, and its illegal blockade of essential goods into Gaza.
One disturbing consequence of these violations is the increasing anti-Israel feelings on British university campuses that are now affecting ordinary Jewish students, the majority of whom have nothing to do with Israel or the nefarious activities of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv.
An increasing majority of Jewish students in Britain and the United States recognise that the human rights violations being perpetrated against millions of Palestinians run directly counter to the ethics and tenets of traditional Judaism. However, too often they are intimidated by militant Zionists on campus.
The result is that British universities are slowly becoming no-go areas for ordinary Jewish students. This is a tragedy that openly plays into the agenda of the Likud government that wants the entire Jewish diaspora to emigrate to Israel.
Anthony Bellchambers, UK