Organizations plan Jewish education, Jewish summer camps in UAE as ties warm

The Jewish Agency’s Chairman Isaac Herzog says the quasi-government agency — along with the Jewish Federations of North America and Keren Hayesod — will invest in Jewish education in the United Arab Emirates, as the Gulf nation’s ties with Israel warm.

In coordination with the local Jewish community, the organizations will work on establishing “Jewish education, preserving Jewish identity, community life, summer camps and will consider sending an emissary,” says Herzog in a tweet, thanking Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, the head of the community for his “cooperation and for writing another chapter in the history of the Jewish people.”

A statement from the Jewish Agency says: “A special joint team from The Jewish Agency, Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Federations of North America will be established in the coming days to work with the Chief Rabbi of the UAE to determine the needs of the Jewish community in the region.

“The Jewish community in the UAE totals over 1,000 members, centered in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It’s the first new Jewish community that’s being built in the Arab world in centuries and is comprised of Jews coming from all over the globe, including: Europe, North America, South Africa and the Arab world. Community members work in a variety of fields, serving as teachers, technicians, software developers, nurses and businesspeople.”