Israeli and Emirati film industries to cooperate after deal

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Film agencies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced an agreement Monday to collaborate on television production, the latest development to follow a U.S.-brokered deal between the countries to normalize relations.

The Abu Dhabi Film Commission, an Emirati government agency, said it reached an understanding with the Israeli Film Fund and a Jerusalem film school seeking to strengthen commercial ties through training programs for film and television co-production and joint film festivals.

As part of the agreement, Emirati students will be flown to Jerusalem to study at Israel's Sam Spiegel Film and Television School.

The film agencies hailed the agreement as a way to deepen 'œcultural understanding'ť between the countries.

The United Arab Emirates, along with Bahrain, signed historic agreements to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel at a White House ceremony last week.

The UAE's move to take long-covert economic ties with Israel public has already generated a dizzying series of commitments to cooperate in numerous fields.

The deals reflect a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians, who fiercely oppose normalization amid their efforts to have their own independent state.