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History of the Jews in Qatar
The history of the Jews in Qatar is relatively limited unlike some of the neighboring countries in the Gulf of Persia.
In modern days a small number of immigrants of Jewish descent reside in Qatar, mainly in the capital Doha. Kosher food was produced during the 2022 World Cup and Rabbi Eli Chitrik visits Qatar several times a year on behalf of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.
In 2005 Qatar University with the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited a Jewish delegation from Israel to take part in an international conference on religious dialogue despite opposition from some quarters. It was the first time that Jewish scholars attended the International Conference on Religious Dialogue held every year in Qatar.
Various Jewish people visit and live in Qatar. Professor Gary Wasserman wrote a book The Doha Experiment: Arab Kingdom, Catholic College, Jewish Teacher describing his stay teaching and working in Qatar where Wasserman encountered barely any personal animosity due to being Jewish.
In 2013 Qatar assisted Yemenite Jews to move to Israel. The first group of Yemenite Jews departed from Doha on Qatari flights and arrived in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.
A significant sign of Qatar's new openness to outsiders that includes Jews was that over 10,000 Israelis and many other Jews visited for the 2022 FIFA World Cup many of whom were provided with tens of thousands of Kosher meals showing that there is official recognition and permission to practice Judaism. As early as 2019 it was reported that Qatari officials had consulted with American Rabbi Marc Schneier as to how to welcome the thousands of Israelis and Jews who intended to attend the world Cup finals in 2022.
In 2021 the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities was established to serve Jewish populations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A 2023 report by the United States Department of State stated that during Ramadan the US ambassador hosted an interfaith Suhur (morning meal before sunrise or after the fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan) bringing together Muslim, Christian, and Jewish representatives and in September, the US embassy helped facilitate the visit of a rabbi who conducted Jewish religious services. In a strange twist, rabbis from the anti-Zionist Jewish movement Neturei Karta attended the funeral of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Qatari capital Doha in 2024.
Some reports suggest that Qatar's recent official benevolence and tolerance of Jews and Judaism inside Qatar itself is aimed at easing its political isolation and improving its own image by reaching out to American Jews. Qatar's efforts to reach out to wealthy and influentuel American Jews was reported by Axios in 2023: "Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump organized a private meeting in New York last Wednesday with Qatar's prime minister and a bipartisan group mostly of Jewish businessmen and billionaires, three sources with direct knowledge of the meeting tell Axios."
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History of the Jews in Qatar
The history of the Jews in Qatar is relatively limited unlike some of the neighboring countries in the Gulf of Persia.
In modern days a small number of immigrants of Jewish descent reside in Qatar, mainly in the capital Doha. Kosher food was produced during the 2022 World Cup and Rabbi Eli Chitrik visits Qatar several times a year on behalf of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States.
In 2005 Qatar University with the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited a Jewish delegation from Israel to take part in an international conference on religious dialogue despite opposition from some quarters. It was the first time that Jewish scholars attended the International Conference on Religious Dialogue held every year in Qatar.
Various Jewish people visit and live in Qatar. Professor Gary Wasserman wrote a book The Doha Experiment: Arab Kingdom, Catholic College, Jewish Teacher describing his stay teaching and working in Qatar where Wasserman encountered barely any personal animosity due to being Jewish.
In 2013 Qatar assisted Yemenite Jews to move to Israel. The first group of Yemenite Jews departed from Doha on Qatari flights and arrived in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.
A significant sign of Qatar's new openness to outsiders that includes Jews was that over 10,000 Israelis and many other Jews visited for the 2022 FIFA World Cup many of whom were provided with tens of thousands of Kosher meals showing that there is official recognition and permission to practice Judaism. As early as 2019 it was reported that Qatari officials had consulted with American Rabbi Marc Schneier as to how to welcome the thousands of Israelis and Jews who intended to attend the world Cup finals in 2022.
In 2021 the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities was established to serve Jewish populations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A 2023 report by the United States Department of State stated that during Ramadan the US ambassador hosted an interfaith Suhur (morning meal before sunrise or after the fast-breaking evening meal during Ramadan) bringing together Muslim, Christian, and Jewish representatives and in September, the US embassy helped facilitate the visit of a rabbi who conducted Jewish religious services. In a strange twist, rabbis from the anti-Zionist Jewish movement Neturei Karta attended the funeral of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Qatari capital Doha in 2024.
Some reports suggest that Qatar's recent official benevolence and tolerance of Jews and Judaism inside Qatar itself is aimed at easing its political isolation and improving its own image by reaching out to American Jews. Qatar's efforts to reach out to wealthy and influentuel American Jews was reported by Axios in 2023: "Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump organized a private meeting in New York last Wednesday with Qatar's prime minister and a bipartisan group mostly of Jewish businessmen and billionaires, three sources with direct knowledge of the meeting tell Axios."