Biden also met with Iraqi leaders in the disputed and oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, where Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds are jockeying for power.

CNN: Iraqi VP questions Biden on Obama's Gaza stance

The owners, Suzan and Yoni, form a unique Arab-Jewish partnership, but the cross-cultural business arrangement does not seem out of place in Haifa, a mixed city where Arabs and Jews mingle freely, seemingly unaware of the ethnic tensions simmering in other parts of Israel and the Palestinian territories.

BBC: Hip Haifa, Israel��s third city

Here locals are carving a unique niche as a place where young Jews and Arabs coexist and collaborate on their progressive ideas.

BBC: Hip Haifa, Israel��s third city

As Arabs scour the horizon for templates, some look to Turkey, where a moderate Islamist party has been elected three times in a decade and presided over an economic renaissance.

CNN: Gadhafi's demise and the Arab Spring

But on the Greek cruise ships, where businessmen from some 350 foreign firms were parked, there was a marked absence of Arabs among the customers listening to piped bouzouki music.

ECONOMIST: America and the Arabs