Elie Abadie

Elie Abadie (Arabic: ايلي عبادي) is the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates in the United Arab Emirates.[1][2] Abadie is also the former Director of the Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University, with an area of interest on the topics of Sephardic Judaism, history, philosophy, and comparative traditional law. He is a member of the board of the American Sephardi Federation and the World Sephardic Educational Center, and co-president of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries. He is a former member of the Board and an Officer of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), the Treasurer/Vice-president of the New York Board of Rabbis, and co-chair of the Sadat Congressional Gold Medal Committee.[3]

Rabbi

Elie Abadie
Born1960
Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation(s)Rabbi (full-time)
Gastroenterologist (part-time)
SpouseElise Eichler

Early life and education

Family Origins

Abadie is descended from a rabbinical lineage dating back to fifteenth century Spain and Provence. Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain and later Provence his family migrated through Italy, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. Shortly after the establishment of Israel in 1948, Abadie's parents were forced to flee Aleppo, Syria under government pressure.[4] Abadie explained his parents' flight from Syria:

“My parents lived right next to the synagogue. They saw people enter the synagogue, pillage it, torched it, took out the Torah scrolls and holy books and burnt them. My parents escaped from their home through the backdoor as people tried to get into my parents’ house. They left and never returned.”[5]

Abadie was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1960. The Abadie family moved to Mexico City in 1971 after the Palestinian Liberation Organization relocated its headquarters from Jordan to Lebanon. They lived in Lebanon with no citizenship, as registered refugees, with identity documents reading "stateless." Abadie's father, a rabbi in Lebanon, had his picture posted on walls around Beirut claiming he was a Zionist leader, prompting his family's emigration.[6]

After moving to the United States in 1979 to attend Yeshiva University, he earned his B.A. in Health Sciences in 1983, B.S.C. in 1984 in Bible Studies, Hebrew Teacher's diploma in 1985, and a master's degree in Jewish Philosophy in 1986 from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University. Abadie received his ordination in 1986 from Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He attended SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where he graduated in 1990 with an M.D. degree. He did his residency in Internal Medicine, and later his fellowship in gastroenterology at Maimonides Medical Center where he finished in 1995.[7]

Tenure as rabbi

Abadie became a rabbi at Congregation Beit Edmond in 2001.[8]

He was the founding rabbi of Shaare Mizrah-Manhattan East Synagogue, the Head of School of the Sephardic Academy of Manhattan, and the Spiritual Leader of the Moise Safra Community Center in Manhattan. From 2003 to 2017 he was the founding Rabbi and Spiritual Leader of the Edmond J. Safra Synagogue in New York City (now Congregation Beit Edmond), one of the largest Sephardic synagogues in New York City.[9]

He is currently the President of JJAC (Justice for Jews from Arab Countries) and a member of the governing council of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). He is the founder of the Sephardic Academy of Manhattan and served as the Director of the Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic Studies, at Yeshiva University and college professor of Sephardic Judaism, history, philosophy, and comparative traditional law.[10][11][2]

Senior Rabbi in the United Arab Emirates

In November 2020, after the signing of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between the UAE and Israel, Abadie moved to Dubai to become the country's Senior Rabbi.[12] He lauded the efforts of the Emirati Government for the reunion of two Yemenite Jewish families in Abu Dhabi in January 2021 after a separation of 21 years.[13]

In 2021, Abadie issued an official condemnation of the Houthis for imprisoning a Yemenite Jew, Levi Salem Marhabi, for helping smuggle a group of Jews into Israel; dubbing it as a crime against humanity.[14]

Personal life

Abadie's native language is Arabic and is fluent in six languages. He is also a part-time gastroenterologist.[5] Abadie has received the Orden Del Merito Civil, the highest civil decoration in Spain. He currently lives in Dubai and has been married to Elise Eichler for over 36 years.[15]

See also

References
  1. Divon, Michal Michelle. "Special: Senior Rabbi in the UAE is a doctor and interfaith healer". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  2. Ahren, Raphael. "Small but growing, UAE's Jewish community to get second full-time rabbi from NY". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  3. Yekusiel (2017-11-20). "VIDEO/PHOTOS: Congress Commemorates Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's 40th Anniversary Of Visit To Israel". The Yeshiva World. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  4. Miller, Elhanan. "For Jewish ex-refugees, it's about recognition, not politics". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  5. "Meet the UAE's Arabic-speaking rabbi in residence, who fled Lebanon as a child". The National (Abu Dhabi). 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  6. "Meet the UAE's Arabic-speaking rabbi in residence, who fled Lebanon as a child". The National (Abu Dhabi). 26 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  7. Lewis, Rhona. "Jews Of Lebanon". Archived from the original on 2021-08-11. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  8. Rosenblatt, Gary. "Safra Shul Controversy Breaks Into Public View". jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  9. "About the Rabbi". 2017-01-26. Archived from the original on 2017-01-26. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  10. "Rabbi Elie Abadie Appointed Director of the Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic Studies – Yeshiva University News". Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  11. "Rabbi Elie Abadie Headed To Dubai – Jewish Business News". Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  12. Lewak, Doree (November 28, 2020). "Surprise exodus of Jewish Americans moving to once-hostile UAE". New York Post. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  13. "The UAE's unprecedented role in helping reunite Jewish family is symbolic". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  14. Algemeiner, The. "Senior Rabbi in United Arab Emirates Denounces Continuing Imprisonment of Yemeni Jew as 'Crime Against Humanity'". Algemeiner. Archived from the original on 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  15. "Rabbi Elie Abadie, MD". Vatican Conference 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
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