The first purpose-built in 100 years: a synagogue opened in the UAE

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On Thursday, February 16, the UAE opened the center, which houses the first official synagogue in the country.

The ceremony was attended by British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who attached a mezuzah to the entrance to Moses Ben-Maimon's new synagogue.

“It was the first purpose-built synagogue in the Arab world in almost a century,” the rabbi explained.

Abraham's family, opened in Abu Dhabi, with three prayer houses in one place, is the first of its kind.

“The center will become a platform for learning and dialogue, a model of coexistence. Visitors are invited to participate in religious services, tours, celebrations and the opportunity to experience the faith,” said the center's president, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak.

The opening of the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi is a reflection of the vision of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to further human fraternity. It embodies the UAE's values ​​of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. pic.twitter.com/wBGRbtt4HL

— سيف بن زايد آل نهيان (@SaifBZayed) February 17, 2023

It is specified that all three prayer houses have the same height and the same external parameters.

Remarkably, another synagogue in the Arab region of the Persian Gulf is located in Bahrain. Both states signed the Abraham Accords with Israel.

This is the moment that the Chief Rabbi fixed the first mezuzzah at the entrance to the first purpose built synagogue in the Arab world for nearly a century: The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue in Abu Dhabi.@abrahamicfh pic.twitter.com/TFmqxgxJ2H

— Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) February 16, 2023

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