(Jewish Group) Gulf Jews form umbrella body to make observance easier
Jews in six Gulf states are uniting under an umbrella association to facilitate Jewish observance.
The Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, which announced its establishment on Tuesday, will bring together communities in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to a statement from two board members, Houda Nonoo in Bahrain and Alex Peterfreund in the UAE.
Jewish worship exists to varying degrees in each of the countries. The profile of Jewish communities has become more public since the Abraham Accords, brokered last year by the Trump administration, normalized ties between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain. Those countries belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional alliance.
A factor in the association’s establishment was the launch of pre-Shabbat Zoom meetings among the communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
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