Chabad Lubavitch of Kuwait
Chabad-Lubavitch and Kuwait: no resident emissary found; Chabad's links run through Aleph Institute support for Jewish US troops at Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring, and visits by the UAE emissary Levi Duchman
| Chabad-Lubavitch in Kuwait
| |
|---|---|
| Type | No resident Chabad presence found |
| Founded | None found |
| Headquarters | None |
| Area served | Kuwait, especially US military bases |
| Key people | None resident. Visiting: Levi Duchman (UAE); Aleph-endorsed US Army chaplain Capt. Elisar Admon (2023) |
| Remarks | Evidence is thin; directories could not be checked conclusively |
Chabad-Lubavitch in Kuwait has no resident emissary, Chabad house or registered local body, according to the sources reviewed for this page.[1][2] Chabad's documented activity in the country falls into two areas. The first is religious support for Jewish members of the US armed forces, through the Aleph Institute, which Chabad.org describes as "Chabad-Lubavitch-affiliated" and as founded in 1981 "at the direction of the Rebbe" (Menachem Mendel Schneerson).[3] The second is visits from the UAE by Rabbi Levi Duchman, who "visited the small Jewish community in Kuwait, as well as Jewish members of the U.S. armed forces stationed on two bases there" before his 2020 appointment as Chabad's UAE emissary.[4] Kuwait's small Jewish community is a founding member of the non-Chabad Association of Gulf Jewish Communities.[5]
Emissaries and local bodies
No Chabad emissary or centre in Kuwait was found. The Chabad headquarters directory on Lubavitch.com lists only Cyprus and Israel under "Middle East".[1] The Chabad.org directory page for Kuwait showed no listings when fetched.[2]
- Editor's note: Evidence is thin. The Chabad.org page is drawn by script and returned the same empty result for the UAE, where Chabad clearly operates, so a browser check is still needed. No source gives the size of Kuwait's civilian Jewish community. No Chabad contact with the Kuwaiti government or ruling family was found.
Covered from elsewhere
- From the UAE. Chabad.org's 2020 profile of Levi Duchman, republished by JNS, says that besides his UAE work he "visited the small Jewish community in Kuwait", as well as Jewish US personnel on two bases there. After his official appointment he would focus on the UAE, "yet with a continued eye towards helping every Jew in the region".[4]
- Gulf community body. The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities was founded in February 2021 by communities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, under the Dubai-based Rabbi Elie Abadie, who is not Chabad.[5]
Military services
- 2019, Camp Buehring. Chabad.org (Nicole Bauke, April 2019) reported: "There is not a single Jewish chaplain at Camp Buehring Army Base—let alone in all of Kuwait". Capt. Sanford Cohen, a lay leader "endorsed by the Jewish Welfare Board", ran services and a Passover seder for about 20 troops. Cohen said: "The only way to have a connection is through organizations like Aleph Institute and Kosher Troops". For Rosh Hashanah he had travelled to Camp Arifjan, "the closest location for prayer services".[6] Rabbi Menachem Katz of the Aleph Institute said the matzah campaign "was started by the Rebbe ... in 1941 or '42".[6]
- 2023, Camp Arifjan. Chabad.org (Nancy K. S. Hochman, December 2023) reported that "close to 40 soldiers, sailors and marines" at Camp Arifjan held Hanukkah, led by US Army Capt. Elisar Admon, "a chaplain endorsed by the Chabad-Lubavitch-affiliated Aleph Institute". It said that "several Jewish troops gather together each Friday morning to bake challah" and hold a Shabbat meal.[3]
(Both accounts are Chabad-side.)
- Editor's note: Admon is described only as Aleph-endorsed. No source says he is a Chabad emissary. The Jewish Welfare Board, which endorsed Cohen, is not a Chabad body.
Relations with the state and Israel
None found. No Chabad meeting with the Kuwaiti state was found, and no Chabad role in Kuwaiti–Israeli relations.
Funding and donors
None found for Kuwait. The Aleph Institute's military programme supplies religious items free to troops.[6]
Controversies
None found.
Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States lists no rabbi for Kuwait, and Kuwait is not on its communities list.[7][8] Levi Duchman, who has visited Kuwait, is an ARIS member based in the UAE. In 2020 Chabad.org called him "vice president of ARIS".[4][7]
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Apr 2019 | Chabad.org reports no Jewish chaplain in Kuwait; lay-led Passover at Camp Buehring with Aleph Institute supplies |
| By Nov 2020 | Levi Duchman has visited Kuwait's Jewish community and two US bases (date not given) |
| Feb 2021 | Kuwait's community joins the founding of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities |
| Dec 2023 | Aleph-endorsed chaplain Elisar Admon leads Hanukkah at Camp Arifjan |
See also
- Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia
- Zionist connections in Kuwait
- Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
- Chabad in Iran
- Chabad of United Arab Emirates
- Chabad Lubavitch of Bahrain
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, "Middle East – Centers", Lubavitch.com, accessed 19 October 2026. Chabad-side directory.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chabad.org, "Chabad Centers in Kuwait", fetched 19 October 2026 (no listings shown; page drawn by script). Chabad-side directory.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nancy K. S. Hochman, "U.S. Troops in Kuwait Celebrate Chanukah", Chabad.org, 14 December 2023. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Chabad-Lubavitch announces emissary to United Arab Emirates", JNS (from Chabad.org/News), 1 November 2020. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, "Jews in 6 Gulf nations form first association to enhance regional Jewish life", 15 February 2021. Self-published (non-Chabad).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Nicole Bauke, "A Combat Officer's Passover in the Sands of Kuwait", Chabad.org, 14 April 2019. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, "ARIS Rabbis", accessed 19 October 2026. Self-published; mainly Chabad-led.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, "Communities", accessed 19 October 2026. Self-published.