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Shofar blasts sound in Abu Dhabi as UAE Jews join Israeli delegation for morning prayers

“By coming to establish relations between Israel and the UAE, we draw inspiration from our common patriarch and forge a new path,” said Meir Ben-Shabbat, head of the Israeli delegation.

By Josh Plank, World Israel News

Members of the Israeli delegation to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined with members of the UAE Jewish community for morning prayers Tuesday at the St. Regis Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The group included Meir Ben-Shabbat, Israel’s national security adviser; Ross Kriel, president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates; and Solly Wolf, president of the Dubai Jewish Community.

At the conclusion of the service, Rabbi Levi Duchman of Dubai blew the shofar, a ram’s horn traditionally blown during the Hebrew month of Elul.

Rabbi Duchman also recited a prayer for the welfare of the government and UAE military forces. He presented a copy of the prayer in a special velvet cover to Ben-Shabbat.

American and Israeli officials arrived in the UAE on Monday to discuss the Israel-UAE peace agreement.

“I am very excited to lead the official Israeli delegation to the United Arab Emirates,” said Ben-Shabbat upon landing in Abu Dhabi.

“On behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I would like to thank U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy Jared Kushner and his team, and my dear colleague, U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, for the vision, the understanding, and the efforts that they invested so that we might reach this moment,” he said.

“I would like to express to my hosts and especially to his Highness UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed our appreciation for his brave step,” he said.

“Not in vain do we call this agreement, and those that will come in its wake, the ‘Abraham accords’. Abraham, our first patriarch, had an innovative vision. He came out against the beliefs that were current in, and before, his time,” said Ben-Shabbat.

“He founded the faith in one God – the God who promised that he would be a source of blessing for us all: ‘and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'”

“By coming to establish relations between Israel and the UAE, we draw inspiration from our common patriarch and forge a new path: A brave path, of hope, partnership, brotherhood, prosperity, and peace,” he said.