Ross Kriel and Carly Maisel
The Thriving Jewish Community in the United Arab Emirates
Summary
A brief but informative history of the UAE and its geographical location and how the Jewish community started in Dubai and continues to thrive and take its place among other minority religious communities in the UAE.
Ross Kriel
Ross Kriel is an Oxford-educated lawyer originally from Johannesburg. He has worked in the UAE since 2008 and has lived in Dubai since 2013 with his wife and children. He works for French energy giant ENGIE as a transactional lawyer and has worked on large energy projects throughout the GCC, Africa, and South Asia since 2008. He is also president of the Jewish Community of the Emirates (JCE). In his capacity as President of the JCE, Ross was privileged to be included in the UAE Delegation to the Ministerial on Freedom of Religion and Belief which was held in Washington, DC, in July 2019, and was invited to present his work in the UAE to European Parliamentarians in March 2020 as part of the EPP Working Group on Intercultural and Religious Dialogue. He is involved in several ongoing projects intended to encourage and normalize Jewish communal life in the UAE.
Carly Maisel
Carly Maisel is the global CEO of Kirsh Philanthropies.