Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.

Diplomat tells of joy as first Israeli is born in UAE since the Abraham Accords


Georgia Tolley
  • English
  • Arabic

A baby girl born in Dubai on August 14 has made history.

Mia Sztulman Starosta is the first Israeli infant to be born in the UAE since the Abraham Accords.

Her father, Ilan Sztulman Starosta, is head of the mission for the consulate of Israel to Dubai, and her mother, Jacqueline, is the economic advisor there.

They moved to the emirate for the roles six months ago.

All our other children were born in Israel, but Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE, after the Abraham Accords, which of course is emotional for me
Ilan Sztulman Starosta,
head of mission for the Israeli consulate in Dubai

Mia is their fifth child and weighed a healthy 2.9 kilograms when she was born.

Mr Sztulman Starosta told The National the symbolism of her birth in an Arab country was important to him and his wife.

“We actually requested to come to Dubai,” he said.

“All our other children were born in Israel, but Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE, after the Abrahamic Accords, which of course is emotional for me.

“The Abraham Accords felt like having a dream when it became true. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we’ve been involved in so many attempts to get to peace moving, and suddenly we managed to break through.”

A birthday and an anniversary

Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her father, Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of mission for the consulate of Israel to Dubai
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her father, Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of mission for the consulate of Israel to Dubai

Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, inaugurated Israel’s consulate in Dubai in June and described it as a “centre for co-operation”.

Mia was born days after the Israelis and Emiratis celebrated the anniversary of the Abraham Accords, which were agreed on August 13 last year.

The Accords normalised the relationship between Israel and the UAE, and also between Bahrain and Israel, meaning overt trade, travel and business could start.

Within weeks, regular commercial flights started between the UAE and Tel Aviv, and more than 200,000 Israelis have visited the Emirates. That number would probably have been higher were it not for the pandemic.

Mr Sztulman Starosta said Mia’s birth was easy, but now he needs to deal with her documentation.

“We haven’t started consular services yet, so her passport will be the first to be issued here,” he said.

“I’ve got to get all sorts of permits and stamps, so it’s going to take me a few weeks.

“Then we’ll be able to take her back home to see my other kids and my family.”

Watch: One year on - what are the Abrahamic Accords?

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Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes

Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai

FIXTURES

All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)

Saturday
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Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)

Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M3%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%2FUSB-4%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206E%2C%20Bluetooth%205.3%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Midnight%2C%20silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%2F35W%20dual-port%2F70w%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%2C%202%20Apple%20stickers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C599%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.

More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.

The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.

The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.

A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.

Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.

Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.

Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.

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Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019. 

Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Updated: August 17, 2021, 2:47 PM