Every Saturday, in secluded beach villas, hotel banquet halls and luxury apartment towers across Dubai, Jews arrive to worship at some of the world’s most hidden synagogues even as the United Arab Emirates encourages the dramatic growth and openness of its Jewish community. Plans to build a permanent sanctuary for Dubai’s fast-expanding congregation have sputtered to a standstill, Jewish leaders say. The new community is running up against hurdles that religious groups long have grappled with in this federation, where the state’s official religion of Islam is closely monitored, non-Muslim practice is controlled and religious buildings are limited. The fast-growing population of Jewish immigrants to the UAE — including an influx of Israelis after the countries normalized relations in 2020 and recently of Russians after the war on Ukraine — may feel freer than ever to express their identity in this autocratic Arab sheikhdom, which has sought to brand itself as an oasis of religious tolerance. A Jewish nursery has sprung up. So has a mikvah, or ritual bath for women. New kosher restaurants do brisk business. Recent Passover seders drew thousands. But without a home base, some Jewish leaders fear a state of perpetual limbo. “You cannot grow a community in a hotel,” said Elie Abadie, senior rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates. “It gives the feeling of instability, of not belonging.” Religious groups seeking to establish new sanctuaries contend with convoluted rules in the country, where expats outnumber Emirati Muslims nearly nine to one. Dubai has declared just two space-starved zones buildable for religious sanctuaries. The main church compound — land the government is now offering for a synagogue — rests on the furthest reaches of the city, a dusty area by the Jebel Ali Port and local aluminum smelter. “We used to be out in the boonies,” said Jim Young, an Anglican chaplain, although a metro line recently made churches more reachable. Legions of low-paid foreign workers powering Dubai’s economy — Catholic Filipinos, evangelical Africans, Hindu Indians — travel to the compound in buses from faraway labor camps. On the Sabbath, however, observant Jews can do no such thing. From sundown on Friday until the sun sets on Saturday, many devout Jews refrain from the use of mechanical devices, including cars. To prevent long treks on the holy day, synagogues are typically situated at the heart of residential neighborhoods. But no one lives in the industrial free-trade zone of Jebel Ali — save for a small group of expats whose dilapidated cottages face demolition. In Dubai’s searing summer heat, walking to the temple compound from downtown Dubai or the marina, where most Jews reside, is unthinkable. “Jebel Ali is not a solution for the Jewish population,” said Alex Peterfreund, a community leader and cantor, adding that a synagogue needs to be somewhere central and residential where observant Jews would want to move and seed a community. “The authorities have to learn what Judaism is … I guess they were a bit surprised.” Although many of Dubai’s Jews don’t observe Shabbat, the congregation has grown more observant as traditional Israeli and French Jews immigrate. Community leaders say they turned down the Jebel Ali synagogue proposal, and talks on an alternative location have stalled for months. The UAE National Human Rights Authority acknowledged the difficulties, saying: “There […]

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