In the News

By Handan Kazanci March 2, 2023 Rabbi Marc Schneier says he is ‘proud’ of Israel personnel who took part in earthquake search and rescue efforts ISTANBUL A prominent leader of the Jewish community in the US is in Istanbul to show solidarity with the Turkish people following the devastating Feb. 6 earthquakes which killed thousands in southern Türkiye. “We came here as a solidarity mission with the Turkish people following the devastation and destruction that has taken place because of the earthquakes,”...

By Marc Schneier January 25, 2023 As the UAE introduces Holocaust education in schools, the Arab world prepares itself to tackle the historical gap of knowledge. UAE PRESIDENT Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed attends the G20 Summit in Bali, in November. We should praise the UAE for pioneering the inclusion of Holocaust education in its curriculum for primary and secondary schools, says the writer. (photo credit: REUTERS) Let us be clear: The Gulf region and the Arab world do not bear culpability for the...

By Mariam Fam, Associated Press November 29, 2022 Eli Chitrik from Turkey shows bagel sandwiches at his hotel room in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Stored into bright orange cases in Rabbi Eli Chitrik’s hotel room are bagels stuffed with vegetables. The labels declare the sandwiches kosher, or in compliance with Judaism’s set of dietary regulations. Freshly baked, they are made in Qatar at a designated kitchen, set up to feed Jewish World Cup visitors who want to keep kosher during the tournament....

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By David Isaac November 23, 2022 Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), and Iris Ambor, head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry delegation to Doha, enjoy a kosher bagel sandwich at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Courtesy: FFEU. While Qatar can hardly be considered a friend of Israel, harboring as it does Hamas and other Islamic extremists and pouring millions into the Gaza Strip, when it comes to Jews visiting the country for the FIFA World Cup it has been very...

By David Klein November 22, 2022 The bagels are being baked in a space provided by Qatar Airways. (Courtesy of Rabbi Marc Schneier) (JTA) — Qatar may have caused an uproar by banning alcohol at the World Cup soccer tournament in Doha this month, but for religious Jewish fans, some kosher offerings will be available, thanks to two rabbis. Rabbi Marc Schneier, from New York, and Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement’s emissary to Istanbul, worked with Qatari officials to create...

By Johanna Afriat November 21, 2022 The team of kosher cooks and supervisors assigned to the Doha Kosher Kitchen in Qatar, November 20, 2022. The kosher kitchen is under the supervision of Rabbi Mendy Chitrik of Istanbul Practicing Jewish supporters who come to watch the World Cup matches in Qatar benefit from kosher food on site, according to the spokesperson for the Israeli delegation present in the Arab state. “Several rabbis from other Gulf countries and the United States have taken initiatives...

By Zvika Klein November 21, 2022 The bagels are being baked in a space provided by Qatar Airways. (Courtesy of Rabbi Marc Schneier) Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York denied the claims published by The Jerusalem Post that Qatar banned hot kosher food and Jewish prayer. Schneier, an influential Jewish figure in the Muslim world and president of the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a global center for Muslim-Jewish relations, said on Monday that “I’ve been in touch with...

November 18, 2022·3 min read Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York Facilitates First Kosher Kitchen in Qatar Jewish Fans Can Rejoice as Kosher Food Available for FIFA World Cup Opening on Nov. 20 Collective Effort with Qatari and US Congressional Officials DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Rabbi Marc Schneier of New York, widely considered one of the most influential Jewish figures in the Muslim world, announced the opening of the first Kosher kitchen ever in Qatar in time for the opening...

By Nicole Winfield November 4, 2022 Pope Francis talks with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as they attend the closing session of the Bahrain Dialogue Forum: “East and West for Human Coexistence”, November 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — With Russia’s war in Ukraine raging, Pope Francis joined Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders on Friday in calling for the great religions to work together for peace, telling an interfaith summit that religion...