The Gulf’s first ever kosher supermarket now open in Dubai

The growing list of kosher options in the Gulf has gained a historic addition with the opening of the first grocery store that offers a variety of Israeli and Jewish brands.

The United Arab Emirates’ first Kosher supermarket opened in Dubai this week, adding to the small but growing list of kosher options established in the Gulf in the two years since the signing of the Abraham Accords normalizing relations with Israel.

Located only minutes from the Burj Khalifa —the world’s tallest building and the home of Armani/Kaf, the country’s first kosher restaurant— the store, called Rimon, will stock food from Israel, the U.S. and Europe and adhere to “the highest Jewish quality standard with Kosher Mehudar certification,” the local community said in a statement.

“Our wonderful community, which keeps growing and prospering here in the UAE, most gratefully continues to benefit from the extraordinary embrace we've received from the Emirates government and local authorities, for over a decade now,” said Rabbi Levi Duchman, the local Chabad emissary and head of the Emirates Agency for Kosher Certification.

“In order to enable residents and visitors full Jewish life here, we've established Jewish institutions and communities, openly celebrate Shabbat, holidays and simchas – and enjoy quality kosher food, any day and everywhere, across the Emirates.”

Aside from Rimon and Armani/Kaf, kosher food is also available at Elli’s Kosher Kitchen on Palm Jumeirah and, earlier this month, Israeli chef Eyal Shani announced that he'll soon open a new restaurant in Dubai– his first in the Middle East outside of Israel.

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Bamba at the Burj Khalifa: The Gulf's First Ever Kosher Supermarket Now Open (Haaretz)

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