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DUBAI: The UAE’s chief rabbi married on Wednesday at Hilton Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, two years after the signing of the Abraham Accord to normalize relations between the UAE and Israel.
Rabbi Levi Duchman, 29, tied the knot with Lea Hadad, 27, daughter of Rabbi Menachem Hadad, chief rabbi of the Brussels chabad.
The event, which deliberately coincides with the agreement’s second anniversary, highlights the growing presence of Jews in the UAE who, until a few years ago, had to keep their services virtually hidden from the public.
About 1,500 guests attended the ceremony, including senior officials of the UAE government and more than 20 ambassadors from France, Japan, South Korea, Finland and more. Prominent businessmen, including Emirati entrepreneur Mohamed Alabbar, and male and female Catholic priests were also present at the event, reflecting the UAE’s growing commitment to interfaith and coexistence.
“We are lucky to be in this great place in the United Arab Emirates,” Rabbi Levi Banon of Morocco’s chabad (Duchman’s brother-in-law and emcee of the night) told guests from the chuppah or wedding canopy.
“We feel your motto of excellence and hospitality. Thank you for making us feel at home.”
While the exact number of Jews living in the UAE is unknown, it is estimated that there have been between 500 and 3,000 or more since the Abraham Accords were signed. Since normalization, the UAE has welcomed more than 200,000 Jewish tourists, a number that is rising given the increasing number of Israelis and Jews living and doing business in the UAE.
Friends and family from around the world attended the welcome ceremony in Abu Dhabi, some on their first trips since the pandemic began. During the ceremony, the mother of the bride and groom “breaks the glass” – a Jewish tradition that represents the goodwill of the long-term marriage between their children.
Hundreds of guests watched the couple marry in the chuppah, a symbol of the home they will build together. Emiratis, Israelis, Americans and other nationalities mingled and talked as they watched the young couple take the oath.
Rabbi Levi, who has lived in the UAE since 2014, works to serve the country’s growing Jewish community. Since arriving, he has built communities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, including many places of worship, as well as the country’s only Jewish multilingual preschool and kindergarten Mini Miracles in Dubai’s Jumeirah community. A second branch will open in Abu Dhabi.
He also established a Hebrew cram school, a mikvah for kosher purification rituals, and a government-licensed kosher institution, and brought several rabbis to the UAE to serve with him in the community.
He also set up a training program for rabbinical interns and helped Israeli and Jewish businesses take root in the UAE as agreed.
“The couple’s commitment to marry in Abu Dhabi demonstrates their long-term commitment to serving the UAE’s growing Jewish community,” said a Jewish New Yorker who flew in for the wedding.
Rabbi Levi was born in Brooklyn and spent two years in Morocco with his sister Chana and her family. It was there that he was inspired to help develop Jewish life in the Arab world.
His father, Rabbi Sholom Duchman, is a director of Colel chabad, which was founded in 1788 and is Israel’s oldest charity.
Hadad is of Moroccan descent, born and raised in Belgium. She is the daughter of Chief Rabbi Menachem Haddad. Her grandfather started the tradition of messenger work when he established the chabad community in Milan.
“Rabbi Levi and Lea are the perfect couple,” says Alan Kay, a British Jew who has lived in Abu Dhabi for 11 years.
“Their wedding in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, is a testament to their commitment to the country and building a Jewish community here.”
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