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The first and only Jewish nursery in the Bay Area has recorded a significant increase in student enrollment in less than two years.
Located in Dubai’s Jumeirah residential area, Mini Miracles has grown from one student to 45 students since it opened last year.
Levi DuchmanThe UAE’s first resident chief rabbi said they hope to enroll around 200 students by the end of the year.
Early next year, a new Jewish education campus will also be established on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.
We have people from Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Israel moving here, so it’s a very diverse community
Levi Duchman, Chief Rabbi
“We are about to break ground and very soon will be building our newest education centre in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
“I can say with certainty that the number one reason for Jewish families to move to the UAE, apart from business opportunities, is the fact that they are guaranteed a Jewish education.”
Mini Miracles in Dubai was founded and built by UAE Jewish residents Alec and Sonia Sellem following the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
The aim is to provide a UK curriculum campus that incorporates Jewish values.
Since then, Ms. Salem said the increasing number of Jewish families moving to the UAE was one of the factors that attracted them to religious education.
With a strong focus on charity and goodwill, this small campus also houses a Sunday School for over 100 students aged 2 to 12, where children study Jewish history, culture and Hebrew.
The growing Jewish community
Shortly after the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, Rabbi Duchman helped establish the UAE’s first Jewish community center. Soon after, nurseries followed.
Since then, he said the UAE now has one of the fastest-growing Jewish communities in the Arab world, now numbering more than 5,000 people.
“Today, we have thousands of people and it’s a huge community and it’s continuing to grow,” he said.
“We have people from all over Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Australia, Israel moving here, so it’s a very diverse community.”
He added that it is safer to be Jewish in the UAE than in many European countries.
“As our community continues to prosper and prosper, we welcome Jewish children and people from all over the world to our schools and educational institutions to live, visit and do business in the UAE to learn and experience Jewish values and traditions,” he said. Say.
The new centre to be launched in Abu Dhabi will also serve as a nursery and an educational campus similar to Dubai, offering Sunday school and support for those wishing to learn Hebrew.
“We want to provide the highest quality Jewish education and compete with schools in London, New York and Tel Aviv,” Rabbi Duchman said.
“Our extracurricular activities and Sunday school are more geared towards the Jewish community, including members from France, the UK, Israel, the US and the Asian region.”
Mini Miracles Nursery has hosted students until Phase 2 of the Foundation, serving only kosher food, with holidays based on Jewish holidays and holidays.
“This year, we have the groundwork for Phases 1 and 2, and by 2024 we plan to continue the first year [and] Build a full-fledged Jewish school,” he said.
“The challenge is that you can’t build a school in a day.
“In my opinion, here in the UAE we will [someday] Has one of the highest levels of Jewish education in the world. “
Ms. Sellem said that for her and her husband, opening the nursery stemmed from the realization that there would be no Jewish community without core educational facilities.
“The center of the community will always be the child,” she said.
“You can have all the synagogues in the world, you can have all the kosher food in the world, and if you don’t educate your kids properly, you’ll never have a proper community.
“This is a historic moment. There is a Jewish nursery in the UAE and there are now many students.
“Jewish life in Dubai is so fast-paced.”
At the current rate of growth, the school may need to move to another location as it continues to expand, she said.
Updated: September 8, 2022 3:55AM
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