According to Solly Wolf, the president of the Jewish community of Dubai, there are 1,500 Jews in the United Arab Emirates, most of whom live in that city. These Jews now have a Jewish Community Center, a kosher butcher, a Jewish day school, and a synagogue. A newer, larger synagogue is scheduled to open soon, which will give the local Jewish community a more public profile. Raised in Britain, Wolf was brought to Dubai by his jewelry and textile business. In a rare interview by Ami Magazine, he discusses his own experiences and Jewish life in the Emirates:
It’s difficult to ascertain the exact number, but we believe that there are approximately 1,500 Jews spread out in the seven emirates that make up the country. . . . There are over 150 families in Dubai and others in Abu Dhabi. But there are also Jews elsewhere.
I lived here for years before I met another [Jew]. To my knowledge, I was the only Jew not eating treyf and putting on t’filin. Then a few years ago, I was on the phone with a friend from Asia who asked me where I was planning to be for Rosh Hashanah. I told him that I was thinking of spending it with my kids in Europe, or else I’d just stay in Dubai. “You do know that there’s a Jewish community in Dubai, don’t you?” he asked. I hadn’t.
That’s when I found out that there was a community here, and I spent Rosh Hashanah with them. It was amazing to see Jewish men, women, and children practicing our religion so openly in a Muslim country.
The next project on [the community’s] list, among others, is to build a mikveh. Now that we have kosher food, Jewish people are much more excited about the prospect of coming here. The government of Abu Dhabi is in the process of building something called the Abrahamic House. It’s going to have a mosque, a church, and a synagogue in separate buildings but on the same piece of land. It’s an important symbol of tolerance and is expected to be completed in two or three years. Every Shabbat we recite a prayer in shul for the rulers, government and armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. A musical rendition was recently posted online. It’s very beautiful.
Read more on Ami Magazine: https://www.amimagazine.org/2020/06/10/jewish-life-in-a-gulf-state/