Jews in UAE believe in coexistence even after tragedy

Residents of the Arabian Peninsula call it “The Project,” a dazzling, utopian, brand new plan for society.

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It was created by a visionary cadre of Arab leaders and supported by the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Coexistence in 2019. Abraham Accords The project ushered in a new era of friendship, unity and mutual respect in the United Arab Emirates in 2020.

In a part of the world marked by religious strife and violence, UAE A diverse population of approximately 11 million people, mainly foreign citizens, live together in enviable harmony. Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the Project has been the emergence over the last 20 years, with His Majesty’s blessing, of a visible and cohesive Jewish community, complete with a synagogue, religious school and kosher restaurants. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al NahyanT.

“What exists in the UAE is, in essence, a future project where people spend their energy on development, technological progress, cultural exchange, innovation and construction rather than hatred and violence,” Ross Kriel said. he said. Leaders of the local Jewish community told The Media Line.

Kriel, an insider, has been running business in the Emirates since 2008 and moved to Dubai with his family in 2013. Talking about the Project in the UAE, Kriel said, “It is a future where Jews and Muslims do not take into account their religious differences.” is to hinder. Our religious identities and affiliations in general… help us sense a common human desire for transcendence and personal refinement.”

Illustrative image of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad ambassador in the United Arab Emirates (source: Canva, REUTERS/CHRISTOPHER PIKE, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

Israeli tourists visited the UAE

Kriel is not alone in his enthusiasm for life in the UAE. More than one million Israelis visited between 2020 and 2023. Although the Jewish community in the UAE is said to number 500 members, other sources state that the actual estimate is closer to 3,000. While the majority of Jews in the Emirates live in Dubai, Abu Dhabi is also a center. According to the Dubai International Chamber, 1,000 Israeli businesses were operating in the UAE in 2023.

The presence of a thriving local Jewish community in this area was so remarkable that a visiting filmmaker was moved to document an incredible-sounding story: In 2019 — a year before the signing of the Abraham Accords — local Jews ordered a Torah scroll to be written. and presented it to His Majesty as a gesture of thanks. This story formed the main plot of the 2021 movie Amen, Amen, Amen, which was shown all over the world.

“Our film showed a phenomenon of religious tolerance in the Middle East that was unknown a few years ago and countered the dominant narrative of religious violence,” the film’s director, Tom Gallagher, told The Media Line.

Furthering the UAE’s mission of interfaith coexistence, a complex called the Abrahamic Family House opened on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi in March 2023, quickly becoming recognized as “one of the greatest places in the world” by Time Magazine. This building, an architectural marvel, has three places of worship: Eminence Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque, St. Francis Church and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue.

Rabbi Yehuda Sarna is the senior religious advisor of the synagogue at the House of the Abrahamic Family and the former chief rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates. “The establishment of a Jewish community in the UAE has created a new center of gravity on the global Jewish map. Thousands of Jews live in the UAE with a high level of trust in the leadership. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Jews have visited here in the past few years,” he said.

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The project hit its first serious hurdle in late November with the kidnapping and murder of 28-year-old Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabad emissary. The brutal incident sent shockwaves around the world, far beyond the borders of the local Jewish community. In the days that followed, condemnations from the Emirati government quickly followed, with the arrest of three suspects.

In a jointly written opinion piece, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the Anti-Defamation League, and Ali Rashid al-Nuami, chairman of the Manara Center for Coexistence and Dialogue and the UAE Committee on Defense Affairs, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs, Federal National Council, mourned this hate crime and He emphasized the UAE’s commitment to peace.

The headline read: “Those who killed Rabbi Kogan have already failed. We declare together: Terrorism is defeated, peace will prevail. “The UAE will continue to be a beacon of hope in the region.”

But even as the UAE rushes to condemn the violence and reaffirm its core principles of religious tolerance, respect and peaceful coexistence, sources report that the local Jewish community feels shaken.

The day after Rabbi Kogan’s body was found, The Media Line spoke to a New York-based Jewish businessman with a long-standing relationship with the UAE, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Stating that friendships towards Jews cooled after October 7, 2023, he adopts a nuanced approach at this stage of the project.

“The leadership in the Emirates is way ahead of the crowd and brave. … They said, ‘We will build a different, more inclusive future.’ The people understood that, but as very, very difficult and challenging conditions emerged in Gaza and Lebanon after 7/10, (local) “The people greatly sympathized with the devastation of the Palestinians due to the brutal war,” he said.

He said no one should be surprised by their commitment to the Palestinian cause. “The population of the UAE consists of 150 different nationalities. The entire Middle East is represented here. Not all schools can be in harmony with the message of tolerance while there is unrest at home.”

Tensions related to Israel’s war in Gaza are also reflected in the business world. Since October 7, 2023, enthusiasm in the UAE for pursuing business relations with Israel has waned. Although the slogan “Business as usual” still applies, it is now conducted under a shroud of silence.

security concerns

Since October 7, especially after the murder of the rabbi, the American businessman’s concerns about the safety of Jews in the UAE have increased. He said disturbing comments were made to colleagues at work and to Jewish children attending local schools.

“There is a feeling that the love is over, the shine is fading. “No one should be surprised by this,” he added.

This situation deeply affected the daily lives of the Jews there. After October 7, additional security concerns arose that forced the local Jewish community to halt all daily worship services outside Abu Dhabi. “They kept the Abrahamic Family house running after 7/10 for fundamental reasons, because they could secure it, but they also didn’t want people hosting random prayer services,” the businessman said. “Leadership knows there is an uneasy population,” he added. This is a brand new reality.

When asked if he was affected by the sea change in the Emirates, he shrugged and said: “I don’t live there. “I’m in and out of meetings.”

Other people living and working in the area are not interested in this situation. According to Kriel, the tragedy of Rabbi Kogan’s murder is personal but not a threat to Jews in the UAE.

“What is the result?” he asked. “This is a personal tragedy, especially for the Kogan family, but also for members of the community. Rabbi Kogan was someone we interacted with personally; a lovely person. “People are very upset, but my fundamental belief is that society will continue on its current course and patiently build Jewish life in the UAE, which is something we are all very passionate about.”

Although the purpose of the murder was to undermine the Project, Kriel hopes it will “have the opposite effect, motivating us to build this project.”

Similarly, filmmaker Gallagher is confident that the upward trend of tolerance in the UAE will continue. “Ten or 15 years ago, when the Jewish community in the UAE was still small and struggling to find its place, a terrible event like this could have stifled that growth,” he said. The fact that the Jewish community there is now so “strong and proud and integrated into the fabric of Emirati society, I don’t see them as intimidated at all.”

“This was a terrible and sobering incident, but Jews there also know how rare such violence is in the UAE, and vigilance and protection will be redoubled,” he added.

Rabbi Sarna, who also serves as chaplain at New York University, which has seen its share of verbal violence and protests in the past year, is similarly reassured by the UAE’s stalwart leadership and zero-tolerance approach to violence.

“The establishment of a Jewish community in the UAE has created a new center of gravity on the global Jewish map. As we endure the pain of Zvi’s death, we are comforted by the speedy capture of the criminals and rededicate ourselves to the distinctive and historic journey of building Jewish life in this country,” he said.

The American businessman shared a prediction that includes the possibility of hope. “The true significance of the murder will only be realized in the coming weeks,” he said, adding that Jews living in the UAE were determined to live there.

“Some are transients, some are old timers, and new people have moved in since 7/10.” But they’re there because they believe in the message from leadership, which he thinks is “100 percent sincere,” he said.

He added that an inclusive, tolerant, anti-extremist modern society is the “DNA of the Emirates”. This authority comes directly from the UAE president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

“This is his message to his nation. The UAE fights extremism and believes in creating an open society that provides respect, stability and security to its citizens.” he said.

Two weeks after Rabbi Kogan’s murder, Project observers are grappling with its legacy. “Obviously, safety is something we always think about,” Rabbi Motti Seligson, media relations director for Chabad-Lubavitch, told The Media Line. “With that, we are focused on rebuilding stronger.”

“This is what Rabbi Kogan devoted his life to: helping others materially and spiritually and expanding and building Jewish life in the Emirates.”

Kriel stated that the excitement of participating in the Project will help the Emirati Jewish community overcome this difficult moment. “As early pioneers who arrived in Dubai 10 and 15 years ago, many of us are passionate about how our community fits into the hodgepodge of religions and ethnicities. “It’s exciting to be here and take part in such a promising project,” he said.

Filmmaker Gallagher frames the situation this way: “The birth of the Jewish community in the UAE was a miracle in the desert, and no one wants to see that miracle die.”

Israeli tourists visited the UAE

security concerns

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