Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the United Arab Emirates
Jewish communal life, Zionist advocacy and Israeli state, security and commercial ties in the United Arab Emirates
Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the United Arab Emirates cover the Emirates' growing Jewish community and its religious bodies, the Zionist and pro-"Israel" organisations active there, and the UAE's relations with the Zionist entity. Those relations were formalised under the Abraham Accords on 15 September 2020. According to The Times of Israel, "Covert ties between Israel and the Emirates have been ongoing for years" before that.[1][2]
Jewish community and religious life
Estimates of the Jewish population vary widely. The World Jewish Congress (WJC) gives "somewhere between 500 and 3000", most of them expatriates, and its local affiliate estimates "about 1,000", mostly in Dubai.[3] In 2020 a community leader put the figure at "approximately 1,500", while "Others estimate the number to be in the low hundreds".[2] The earliest written reference to Jews in the area is Benjamin of Tudela's 12th-century report of a community at "Kis", in today's Ras al-Khaimah.[3]
Jewish Council of the Emirates
The Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE) is the WJC's affiliate in the UAE. In 2020 The Times of Israel gave the congregation's name as the Jewish Community of the Emirates. According to the WJC, a group began meeting informally in private homes in 2008, and a regular minyan started in 2014.[3] The Times of Israel reported that the congregation had met at "the villa" in Dubai since 2010, holding Modern Orthodox services.[2] In 2019 the community adopted a constitution and held its first elections. Ross Kriel was elected president and Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, of NYU's Bronfman Center, was declared chief rabbi. In 2021 Kriel was named Jewish Representative to the Government of Dubai's Community Development Authority. The JCE represented the community at Pope Francis's visit to Abu Dhabi and at the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House.[3][2]
How far is it Zionist? The JCE is the WJC's affiliate in the UAE, and it represented the community at the White House signing of the accords.[3] No evidence was found of affiliation to the World Zionist Organization or the Jewish Agency for Israel, or of fundraising for Israeli causes.
Association of Gulf Jewish Communities
The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC) was founded in February 2021 by the Jewish communities of six Gulf states, the UAE among them. Its spiritual leader, Rabbi Elie Abadie, is based in Dubai. It runs a rabbinical court, the Beth Din of Arabia, and the Arabian Kosher Certification Agency.[4] No evidence was found of a WZO or Jewish Agency affiliation, or of fundraising for Israeli causes.
Chabad
- Main article: Chabad of the United Arab Emirates
Rabbi Levi Duchman describes himself as "Rabbi to the UAE". Chabad.ae says he arrived in 2014 and founded "Jewish UAE" that year, and that the organisation runs places of worship, education and welfare programmes and "the UAE's sole Kosher" certification body.[5] JNS instead dates his first visit to the winter of 2015, saying he moved to the country later that year. In late October 2020, after the accords, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement formally appointed him its emissary to the UAE.[6]
Before that appointment, Duchman's arrival had caused friction with the existing community. In June 2020 The Times of Israel reported that he had set up a rival "Jewish Community of the UAE" and that local authorities had ordered his group to "immediately" suspend its social media accounts. At that time "Duchman's operation is not listed as an official Chabad house, and he does not claim to be an official representative of the movement".[2] In November 2022 Chabad emissaries, including Duchman and Mendy Chitrik (head of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States), met senior officials in the region, among them the UAE foreign minister.[7]
The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States lists three rabbis in the UAE: Levi Duchman ("Rabbi of the UAE"), Mendel Duchman (Dubai) and Shimon Frenkel (Emirates Agency for Kosher Certification).[8]
Zvi Kogan. In November 2024 Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old Israeli-Moldovan Chabad emissary in Abu Dhabi who managed a kosher supermarket in Dubai, was murdered. His body was found three days after he went missing. The UAE arrested three Uzbek nationals. "Israel" called the killing an "abhorrent antisemitic terrorist attack". The UAE's ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, called it a crime against the UAE.[9] On 31 March 2025 the State Security Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced three defendants to death and a fourth to life imprisonment, for "premeditated murder with terrorist intention".[10]
How far is Chabad Zionist? Chabad's UAE work is religious and communal. Duchman has publicly credited the UAE leadership, and the movement's appointment followed the accords.[6] No evidence was found of WZO, WJC or Jewish Agency affiliation, or of fundraising for Israeli causes.
Abrahamic Family House
Plans for the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi were announced in 2019 with the Higher Committee for Human Fraternity.[3] The complex, which includes a synagogue, opened on 16 February 2023. The AJC's Jason Isaacson called it "the first synagogue to be built on the Arabian Peninsula in almost a century".[11]
Zionist movement and advocacy
American Jewish Committee
In June 2021 the American Jewish Committee (AJC) announced its Abu Dhabi office, "AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding", directed by former US ambassador Marc Sievers. It was the organisation's "first office in an Arab country, and its 13th overseas post".[12] An AJC leadership delegation opened it in March 2022. Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, chairman of the Federal National Council's defence, interior and foreign affairs committee, said: "AJC played an essential role over the years in laying the foundation for the Abraham Accords."[13] AJC's international interreligious director, Rabbi David Rosen, spoke at the opening of the Abrahamic Family House.[11]
World Jewish Congress
The JCE is the WJC's affiliate (see above). The WJC's UAE page carries its statement "Outraged by Murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan".[3]
No evidence was found of World Zionist Organization or Jewish Agency for Israel offices in the UAE.
Israeli state and commercial ties
Treaty
The Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization was signed in Washington on 15 September 2020. Article 1 provides for "Peace, diplomatic relations and full normalization" and Article 3 for the exchange of embassies. An annex covers finance, investment and civil aviation, among other fields. The preamble records that "the Arab and Jewish peoples are descendants of a common ancestor, Abraham".[1]
Diplomatic missions
Embassy of Israel, Abu Dhabi. It opened on 29 June 2021 at an event hosted by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and opened by Yair Lapid.[14] The permanent embassy opened in August 2022.[15] Address: Etihad Towers, Office Tower No. 3, Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi. Tel. +971 2 245 5811 (consular section +971 52 480 2591); email info@abudhabi.mfa.gov.il.[16] The ambassador is Yossi Avraham Shelley, formerly ambassador to Brazil and director-general of the Prime Minister's Office.[17] "Israel"'s first ambassador, Amir Hayek, presented his credentials in November 2021.[15]
Consulate-General of Israel, Dubai. Liron Zaslansky presented her credentials as the first consul-general in September 2022, and the permanent consulate opened in 2023.[15] The consul-general is Sami Abu Janeb, previously head of the Foreign Ministry's Egypt, Maghreb and Inter-Arab Affairs department and deputy chief of mission in Jordan and Cyprus. Tel. +971 4 556 0900 (emergency +971 52 478 5136); email info@dubai.mfa.gov.il. Neither the consulate's website nor the gov.il list gives a street address.[18][19]
UAE embassy in "Israel". Mohamed Al Khaja presented his credentials to President Reuven Rivlin in March 2021 as the first UAE ambassador. The UAE embassy was inaugurated in July 2021.[15]
Milestones
The Israeli embassy's timeline records:[15]
- Naftali Bennett's visit in December 2021, the first by an Israeli prime minister.
- Four visits by President Isaac Herzog between January 2022 and COP28 in November 2023.
- The Negev Summit at Sde Boker in March 2022, with the foreign ministers of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt and the US Secretary of State.
- The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in May 2022.
- The launch of the I2U2 group with India and the US in July 2022.
- Abdullah bin Zayed's first visit to "Israel" in September 2022.
- A customs agreement in March 2023.
The embassy credits the Abraham Accords with 1.2 million tourists and $4 billion in mutual investment.
Trade
CEPA came into force on 1 April 2023, covering 96 per cent of tariff lines and 99 per cent of trade value.[20] According to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trade in goods was $3.209 billion in 2025, against $3.254 billion in 2024. About 80 per cent of it was UAE-to-"Israel" trade. Cumulative trade reached about $14.53 billion between September 2020 and May 2026. Direct flights reached a record 136 a week, and passenger numbers rose from about 892,000 in 2024 to about 1.53 million in 2025.[21] Trade continued during the Gaza war. Semafor reported that trade in the first seven months of 2024 was $1.92 billion, 4 per cent more than a year earlier, and that Mubadala Energy continued to invest in an Israeli gas field.[22]
Security and arms
- Arms transfers. The SIPRI Arms Transfers Database records "Israel" supplying the UAE with two SPYDER-MR air-defence systems, 150 Python-5 and 150 Derby missiles in 2022.[23]
- Elbit Systems. On 14 November 2021 Elbit Systems set up Elbit Systems Emirates to work with the UAE Armed Forces, including on technology transfer.[24]
- IAI and EDGE. At the 2021 Dubai Airshow, "Israel"'s first, Israel Aerospace Industries and the UAE's EDGE Group signed a memorandum on unmanned surface vessels. It built on a March 2021 counter-drone agreement.[25]
Before normalisation
In January 2010 the Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was killed in Dubai. Dubai police said they were "99% sure" Mossad was involved, and Israelis were then barred from entering the UAE. In January 2014 the Israeli minister Silvan Shalom attended a renewable energy conference in Abu Dhabi; "Israel" is a full member of the International Renewable Energy Agency.[26] On 12 June 2020 Yousef Al Otaiba published an op-ed in Yedioth Ahronoth warning against annexation. The Times of Israel called it the "first-ever by an UAE diplomat for an Israeli paper".[2]
Surveillance
In August 2016 Citizen Lab reported that the human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor had been sent links to NSO Group's iPhone exploit, and it named the UAE government as the likely operator.[27] The 2021 Pegasus Project pointed to "an apparent attempt by Saudi Arabia and its close ally the United Arab Emirates" to use NSO spyware after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.[28]
Jeffrey Epstein
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of the Dubai ports company DP World, met and corresponded with Jeffrey Epstein for more than a decade, from before Epstein's 2008 arrest in Florida, according to Justice Department documents reviewed by the Miami Herald and Reuters:[29][30]
- In May 2009, while Epstein was serving his Florida sentence on work release, bin Sulayem sent him a memo seeking UK government support for DP World's stalled London Gateway port. Epstein forwarded it to Peter Mandelson, then the UK business secretary, and later edited a letter from bin Sulayem to Mandelson asking for funding guarantees.[29]
- Reuters reports that their correspondence discussed sexual relationships with women whom Epstein helped bin Sulayem to meet.[30]
- Bin Sulayem tried to introduce Epstein to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai, and kept him informed of meetings between UAE leaders and the Russian leaders Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev.[29]
- His emails to Epstein also cover Somaliland, Kenya, Azerbaijan and a planned West African tour with Senegal's Karim Wade.[31][32][33][34]
After his name appeared in the files, the UK's British International Investment and the Canadian pension fund La Caisse suspended new investment with DP World. Bin Sulayem resigned as DP World's chairman and chief executive in February 2026; two sources told Reuters that the decision followed his appearance in the files.[30]
See also
- Abraham Accords
- Chabad of the United Arab Emirates
- Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
- Zionist movement
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Bahrain
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Saudi Arabia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Jordan
- Government of the United Arab Emirates
External links
- Embassy of Israel in the UAE (official site)
- Consulate General of Israel in Dubai (official site)
- World Jewish Congress: Community in the UAE
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 State of Israel and United Arab Emirates, Abraham Accords Peace Agreement: Treaty of Peace, Diplomatic Relations and Full Normalization Between the United Arab Emirates and the State of Israel US Department of State, 15 September 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Raphael Ahren, Muscling in on Dubai's existing Jewish community, a Chabad rabbi stirs discord The Times of Israel, 29 June 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 World Jewish Congress, Community in the United Arab Emirates World Jewish Congress, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, Jews in 6 Gulf nations form first association to enhance regional Jewish life gulfjewish.org, 15 February 2021.
- ↑ Jewish UAE, About us chabad.ae, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 JNS, Chabad-Lubavitch announces emissary to United Arab Emirates JNS, 1 November 2020.
- ↑ COLlive, Shluchim Well Received in Mideast Capitals COLlive, 11 November 2022.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, The Rabbis rabbisalliance.org, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ David Gritten, UAE says three Uzbeks arrested over Israeli-Moldovan rabbi's murder BBC News, 25 November 2024.
- ↑ Emirates News Agency, Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals: Death sentence for three; life imprisonment for aide, in kidnapping & murder case WAM, 31 March 2025.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 American Jewish Committee, AJC Abu Dhabi Joins in Celebration of UAE Abrahamic Family House Opening AJC, 17 February 2023.
- ↑ American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Committee Opens Office in Abu Dhabi, Ambassador Marc Sievers Named Director AJC, 7 June 2021.
- ↑ American Jewish Committee, AJC Leadership Delegation Opens Abu Dhabi Office on Visit to UAE, Bahrain AJC, 6 March 2022.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, About the embassy Embassy of Israel in the UAE, last updated 26 February 2025.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bilateral relations Embassy of Israel in the UAE, last updated 4 July 2024.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Contact us Embassy of Israel in the UAE, accessed 20 October 2026; tower number and main telephone from the gov.il list "Israel's Diplomatic Missions" (library copy).
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The ambassador Embassy of Israel in the UAE, last updated 18 September 2025.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Consul General Consulate General of Israel in Dubai, last updated 15 September 2026.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Contact us Consulate General of Israel in Dubai, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Economic department Embassy of Israel in the UAE, last updated 22 May 2024.
- ↑ UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UAE relationships: economic cooperation UAE Embassy in Tel Aviv, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Kelsey Warner, Silent anniversary of Abraham Accords despite record trade Semafor, 18 September 2024.
- ↑ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Elbit Systems, Elbit Systems Establishes a Company in the United Arab Emirates Elbit Systems, 14 November 2021.
- ↑ Seth J. Frantzman, Israeli, Emirati companies partner up on unmanned surface vessels Defense News, 18 November 2021.
- ↑ BBC News, Israel in first UAE visit since murder of Hamas al-Mabhouh BBC News, 16 January 2014.
- ↑ Citizen Lab, The Million Dollar Dissident: NSO Group's iPhone Zero-Days Used Against A UAE Human Rights Defender Citizen Lab, 24 August 2016.
- ↑ Stephanie Kirchgaessner, Saudis behind NSO spyware attack on Jamal Khashoggi's family, leak suggests The Guardian, 18 July 2021.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Shirsho Dasgupta, Epstein's ties to Arab royals: An offer to tutor crown prince, a gift from Mecca Miami Herald, 8 April 2026.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Jana Choukeir, Andrew Mills and Maha El Dahan, Epstein tried to build web of powerful ties across Middle East, documents show Reuters, 19 February 2026.
- ↑ Emails from Sultan bin Sulayem to Jeffrey Epstein on the recognition of Somaliland, 2 April 2018, US Department of Justice Epstein files release, Data Set 9, EFTA00842525 (mirror), accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Email from Sultan bin Sulayem to Jeffrey Epstein, 9 April 2013, US Department of Justice Epstein files release, Data Set 9, EFTA00680987 (mirror), accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and Sultan bin Sulayem, 30 August 2011, US Department of Justice Epstein files release, Data Set 9, EFTA00687884 (mirror), accessed 21 October 2026.
- ↑ Kevin G. Hall and Zack Kopplin, Epstein Made Efforts to Free the Son of Senegal's Former President After Corruption Conviction OCCRP, 10 February 2026.