The Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic Jews of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, is visiting the United Arab Emirates, where he will open a religious school on Saturday on the first visit of any grand rabbi to an Arab country, Hebrew media reported.
The rabbi’s office confirmed that he went to the UAE on Thursday in a “sign of strengthening relations between the UAE and Israel”.
During his visit, which will last until Sunday, he will meet senior Emirati officials, open a Jewish school and appoint Rabbi Levi Duchman as chief rabbi of the UAE’s Jewish community.
Yitzhak Yosef will visit the Jewish Community Centre, the Beit Tevila synagogue in Dubai, as well as the Kosher restaurant in the Burj Khalifa.
“The Chief Rabbi’s visit is historic, and it is a great honour to welcome him here in the UAE,” said Rabbi Duchman. “We are delighted to be here as we are opening many of our new institutions that are being built quickly and efficiently.”
This comes after the UAE and the Zionist entity signed the so-called “Abraham Agreements” on normalising relations and establishing cooperation in various fields, making the Emirates one of the few Islamic countries to collaborate with those who occupy Palestine.
