Dubai: As the UAE continues to normalise ties with Israel, a Sukkah rose in early October at the base of the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, outside of the Armani Hotel. A Sukkah is a small, tent-like structure made of sticks, leaves and twine.
A Jewish Sukkah is a temporary hut that was constructed to be used during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It was also built to celebrate the recent opening of Dubai’s first-ever glatt kosher restaurant in the Armani Hotel called, Armani/Kaf.
Rabbi Mendel Duchman, who supervises the restaurant’s kosher standards, told AP that Dubai’s Jewish community, which has worshipped for years at an unmarked villa in Jumeirah, “is being heard more than ever” after the deal.
Sukkot is commonly known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which means the Festival of Shelters, and known also as the Feast of Ingathering, a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month, Tishrei, which took place in early October. It is an agricultural festival that originally was considered a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest.
A little more on Armani/Kaf
The recently opened kosher restaurant at Burj Khalifa, Armani/Kaf, features upscale Mediterranean food, sleek decor, an extensive grape list and view of the Dubai Fountain. The cooking is overseen by rabbi Duchman to comply with the kosher rules, complete with ritual slaughters.
Since then several UAE ministers have greeted Israelis for their special feasts through Twitter.
-With inputs from AP
