The Jewish Educational Campus in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday marked one year since its establishment, with a festive celebration of Tu B’Shvat. The festive event was held in cooperation with the KKL-JNF, in the presence of Israel’s first Consul General in Dubai Ilan Sztulman, KKL-JNF Managing Director of the Israeli Pavilion Expo 2020 Nave Shachar, and the leader of the Jewish community and Rabbi to the UAE, Rabbi Levi Duchman.
During the celebrations, attended by the children of the campus and their parents, representatives of the KKL-JNF planted a tree in the educational campus.
Nave Shachar said: “We are excited to plant a tree within the Jewish Educational Campus in the UAE, for future generations. KKL-JNF promotes cooperation with the UAE government, striving for environmental development and fighting climate change. Today’s event symbolizes these excellent relations and we trust that we will continue this cooperation for mutual benefit.”
Rabbi Duchman blessed the guests and the students of the campus and their families, saying: “We have decided to mark the first anniversary of our Jewish Educational Campus, the only educational facility across the UAE, together with KKL-JNF, as a symbol of our commitment and rooted connection to our growing community here. We have thankfully received a warm and special welcome from Emirati leadership, which supports our community, and we are grateful for this important support – as we continue to work to enable every Jew living, visiting, and working in the UAE to lead a full Jewish life.”
Since 2014, the growing Jewish community in the UAE has enjoyed various Jewish institutions and community services established by Rabbi Duchman, through the local organization Jewish UAE he founded for this purpose. The local Jewish community and the many Jewish visitors are free to lead a Jewish life in the UAE, with the help of many local Jewish facilities and services: the community’s synagogues in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the unique Jewish Education Campus which encompasses a kindergarten, a Hebrew school and a youth club serving some 100 children in ages 1-16 years, the organization’s government-certified Kashrut, business networking, and relocations services and more, all in a remarkable collaboration with the Emirati leadership.
KKL-JNF is a key partner in the Israeli Pavilion at the Dubai EXPO 2020, in which it presents a variety of content and activities related to the connection between Israel and the UAE in the areas of climate crisis management and technological solutions that KKL-JNF develops for sustainable planning, forestation, environment, and water.