Dubai, UAE - This year’s Mimouna, a Jewish festival held annually in April on the day after Passover ends, was different this year as it coincided with the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Christian Orthodox Easter. 

In celebration of these three religious occasions, and within the framework of the values of peace, love and tolerance that the United Arab Emirates embraced as part of its tolerance initiative announced in 2019, the senior rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE), Elie Abadie (an American of Lebanese origin), held a ceremony featuring a mixture of Mimouna rituals and an iftar (breaking of fast) for Muslims in the presence of Christian religious figures.

Inside Villa No. 77 in the luxurious area of ​​Jumeirah in the Emirate of Dubai, in the courtyard of its small garden, a number of public figures from several sects met at the invitation of Abadie. 

Choosing the courtyard as the celebration venue was intentional since, according to Passover rituals, festivities are held in the evening and in courtyards in remembrance of the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb slaughtered at night in the courtyard of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, according to Abadie.