Levi Duchman
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Levi Duchman (, ; born 1992 or 1993) is the first resident chief rabbi of the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. He also serves as the head of the Jewish congregation of
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
, of the
Jewish Community Center of UAE The Jewish Community Center of UAE is a Jewish community center in the United Arab Emirates led by Chabad Rabbi Levi Duchman. History Since the formation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1971, a small History of the Jews in the United Arab ...
in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, and as a member of the executive board of the
Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States is a union of rabbis serving communities in Muslim world, Muslim-majority countries and regions, established by Rabbi Mendy Chitrik in 2019 with the objective of supporting Jewish life in Muslim countries ...
. Since his arrival in the UAE in 2014, Duchman has established Jewish communities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and a number of Jewish institutions and services, including numerous places of worship, the government-approved ''
kashrut (also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
'' certification, a Jewish education system, business networking and relocation services, and rich community life.


Rabbinical career

Duchman has been establishing Jewish institutions and services for the local Jewish community and Jewish visitors across the UAE since 2014. It was in 2019, following the Abraham Accords signed with Israel, that the UAE leadership gave its official recognition to the local Jewish community. As the UAE's resident rabbi, Duchman received the first rabbinical license, license 001. Duchman is an executive board member of the
Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States is a union of rabbis serving communities in Muslim world, Muslim-majority countries and regions, established by Rabbi Mendy Chitrik in 2019 with the objective of supporting Jewish life in Muslim countries ...
. He has visited many other countries in Arabia, including
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
,
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
, and
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
. He was responsible for affixing the Mezuzah on the Israeli–UAE Embassy in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
.


Kashrut in UAE

Duchman founded the UAE's official Kosher Certification, the first to be fully licensed by the UAE authorities. Emirates Agency for Kosher Certification ( EAKC) is the first legal entity responsible for the assessment of foods, products, processes and services to ensure compliance with Jewish dietary laws. Armani/Kaf is the UAE's first Glatt Kosher Restaurant open in Dubai's
Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but inc ...
, supervised under the EAKC. Duchman has awarded kosher certificates to slaughterhouses, and provides kosher food for restaurants, hotels, and food factories. One thousand EAKC certified kosher chickens per week are provided to the community by local ''
shechita In Judaism, ''shechita'' (anglicized: ; ; ; also transliterated ''shehitah, shechitah, shehita'') is ritual slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to ''kashrut''. One who practices this, a kosher butcher is called a ''sho ...
''. In May 2020, it was reported that the JCC of the UAE has imported the largest kosher meat shipment in the history of the community. Duchman assisted the Staff of
Mohamed Bin Zayed Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 11 March 1961), also known as MbZ, is an Emirati royal and politician who is serving as the third and current president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi since 2022. Mohamed completed his edu ...
with establishing kosher meals for a meeting between the Prince and
Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...
. In May 2022, Duchman was invited by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to extend his condolences on the passing of the late
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 7 September 1948 – 13 May 2022) was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, serving from November 2004 until his death in May 2022. Khalifa was the eldest ...
at the Presidential Palace, on behalf of the world's Jewish community. Duchman thanked the UAE leadership for its longstanding support of the Jewish UAE community and for its promotion of tolerance and coexistence across the Emirates and the region.


Personal life

Duchman is the son of Feiga and Rabbi Shalom Duchman, director of the
Colel Chabad Colel Chabad () was founded in Lithuania in 1788 and is the oldest continuously operating charity in Israel. The institution runs a network of soup kitchens and food banks, dental and medical clinics, daycare centers, widow and orphan support, ...
. Duchman is fluent in 5 languages, including
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and French. Duchman was the brother-in-law of
Zvi Kogan On 21 November 2024, Zvi Kogan (, born 11 August 1996), an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi residing in the United Arab Emirates, was abducted and killed. He was an envoy of the Orthodox Jewish Hasidic organization Chabad. On 24 November 2024, a body was ...
, who was killed in 2024 in a possible
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
attack. His brother Mendel is a ''schochet'' in
Al-Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...
and the rabbi of the Jewish community in
Downtown Dubai Downtown Dubai or The Dubai Downtown is a large-scale, mixed-use complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was developed by the Emaar Properties, Emaar real estate development company. Before 2000, this area was called ''Umm Al Tarif''. It is h ...
. In September 2022, Duchman married Lea Hadad, a Belgian woman of
Moroccan Jewish Moroccan Jews (; ; ) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were much later met by a second wave of migrants fro ...
descent, in the UAE's largest Jewish event. Around 1500 people attended, including prominent Emiratis and over 20 foreign ambassadors.


See also

*
History of the Jews in the United Arab Emirates The history of the Jews in the United Arab Emirates started in 1165. As of 2025, there is a small Jewish community in the UAE about 2,000 people. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the UAE in 2020. The first officially-li ...


References


External links

*
Rabbi Levi Duchman
on
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...

Rabbi Levi Duchman at Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi
after the death of
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 7 September 1948 – 13 May 2022) was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, serving from November 2004 until his death in May 2022. Khalifa was the eldest ...

Rabbi Levi Duchman on the ‘largest ever Seder’ for the UAE Jewish communityThe Abraham Accords Are Changing Rabbi Levi Duchman-s Life in the UAE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchman, Levi Living people 1990s births Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Chief rabbis