Shluchim Well Received in Mideast Capitals

The Rebbe’s clear vision of positive interactions with leaders in the region, based on respect as opposed to mere concessions, was obvious during a recent visit to the Middle East region by Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) and senior Shliach to Washington, DC.

The visit included stops in Bahrain, Israel, The United Arab Emirates and Turkey, where shluchim participated in several meetings with senior government officials, who expressed their interest in the work of Chabad-Lubavitch.

The shluchim included Rabbi Mendy Chitrik of Istanbul, who has had a serious impact on the Turkish Jewish community, and who also heads the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS), and Rabbi Levi Duchman of Abu Dhabi, a widely respected figure there and Chief Rabbi who has spearheaded the amazing recent development of Jewish community infrastructure in the UAE.

(This includes shuls, a mikveh, several Kosher restaurants, a preschool and Hebrew school, Jewish Adult education and Youth network, a Jewish Community Center and Kosher food supply, among other programs.)

Among the dignitaries meeting were His Highness the Foreign Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, renowned Muslim cleric His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayeh, His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al Khalifa, Foreign Policy Advisor to His Majesty King Hamad of Bahrain, and His Excellency Hasan Doğan, Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye), following a meeting which occurred earlier with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

While in Bahrain, Rabbi Shemtov also visited with the Commander of the Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy, which is headquartered in Manama, VADM Brad Cooper, USN, as well as Shliach Chaplain (Lt.) Levi Ceitlin, who is currently stationed there.

In addition, he had the unique opportunity to visit with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who recalled his memorable moments with the Rebbe on that fateful Simchas Torah while serving as the Ambassador of Israel to the UN, and related how special it felt and how he remembers it vividly and clearly until today.