The Gulf region’s first purpose-built shul is to open to the public, Middle East Monitor reports.
The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue is part of the multi-faith Abrahamic Family House complex in Abu Dhabi which also includes a mosque and a church. On Thursday, the shul was inaugurated and British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis affixed a mezuzah to the entrance and tweeted “the first purpose-built synagogue in the Arab world for nearly a century.”
In a statement, the institution’s President Mohamed Khalifa Al-Mubarak said: “The center will be a platform for learning and dialogue, a model of coexistence.”
“Visitors are invited to participate in religious services, guided tours, celebrations and opportunities to explore faith,” he added.
The UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed, also declared that the Abrahamic Family House “embodies the UAE’s values of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence”.
{Matzav.com}
Wow, Rashi’s comment in real life- wait for me at the shul that’s right next to the avodah zara shouldn’t be said.