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Jews celebrate end of Passover in UAE

Muslims and Christians gathered inside the Jewish Council of the Emirates in Dubai upon the invitation of Rabbi Eliyahu Abadi to celebrate together the Mimouna — a Jewish feast that comes seven days after Passover.
Adhering to Jewish tradition, Rabbi Levi Duchman burns willow branches.

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.

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