UAE remains an enclave of peace and template for tolerance

The recent devastating abduction and subsequent murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan in the UAE has certainly rocked the local Jewish community and also perhaps put something of a dampener to the burgeoning kosher tourism that has taken off since the emergence of the Abrahamic Accords in 2019.

Since the establishment of official relations with Israel, one of the significant achievements of the last Trump administration, the country has seen a flourishing of Jewish activity including the opening of a number of kosher restaurants, a store (Rimon) which was run by the late Rabbi Kogan and of course the founding of the country’s first official synagogue, set within a complex called the Abrahamic Family House, where a Mosque and a Church are also situated.

Following the October 7 massacre last year, the community has been much more vigilant. Services in the country other than at the government protected synagogue are no longer permitted. Now with Rabbi Kogan’s killing and this horrendous act of terrorism supposedly at the hands of an Iranian cell, it is not only the small Jewish community which numbers in the low thousands, but also the authorities that have been truly shaken.

There are, however, far more reasons to be optimistic about the hopes for the Jewish community in the country than Zoe Strimpel acknowledged in her recent JC article.

Certainly the speed with which the UAE authorities acted in response to the tragic murder of Rabbi Kogan is surely to be commended. Within days of the terrible event, three perpetrators connected to the killing had already been arrested. The position of the Emirati government, as movingly expressed by the UAE ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, was that Kogan’s murder should also be seen as a “crime against the UAE” itself. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed their sincere condolences to the Kogan family and the UAE Ambassador to Israel attended the shiva of the late Rabbi.

It is also the solid foundation of the Abrahamic Accords which should give us cause for hope for the future of the UAE’s Jewish community. They were always going to be tested in the event of an upsurge in the conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians and since October 7 2023 they have indeed come under strain. Sentiment in the UAE has grown critical of Israel and yet the diplomatic framework fundamentally remains intact. On the ground, there is zero tolerance for antisemitism. Jewish friends that we know in the Emirates, whose kids have faced the slightest intimidation at school, have been shown the utmost support. The government continues to promote harmony and to engage in initiatives to foster understanding between Jews and Muslims.

There is however another much more important and deeper reason that we may continue to draw hope. This is quite simply that the very founding vision of the Emirates back in 1971, under the late Sheikh Zayed’s leadership, focused on inclusivity, peaceful coexistence and global engagement through interfaith dialogue and international cooperation. It is in this spirit, the continuation of which has been fostered by successive leaders, that when installing key industries in emirates over the past five decades, it was often to international Jewish leadership, be it in the fields of banking, healthcare, entertainment, education or diamonds to which the country has turned.

Back in 2010 - long before official peace with Israel - when a number of expat families set about building the Jewish community in Dubai, we saw first hand the openness and tolerance of the authorities. This was demonstrated when, with full knowledge of the powers that be, we brought over, on loan, a Sefer Torah from London’s Marble Arch synagogue and on welcoming from Brooklyn the first Chabad Rabbis to lead Yom Kippur services. We also witnessed this in multiple cultural events, whether artistic, musical or literary that gave a distinctive nod to Jewish influence.

The recent events surrounding Rabbi Kogan’s death have of course given us pause for thought. It will not, however, stop us from returning to the country, to the place of our son’s birth, where almost thirteen years ago we held his brit milah and where next year we intend to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. It will, more importantly, take far more than this terrible murder to knock the enclave of peace and template for tolerance that is the UAE.

Simon and Sharon Eder are founding members of the Jewish Community in Dubai