Single Jew in the Gulf states? A new dating website can help you find your other half

Communities of Jews live in the Gulf states, strengthening their Jewish identity together in the Arab majority countries - and growing larger.

According to the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC), which was founded in 2021 to connect the Jews in the Arab Gulf, between Bahrain, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Jewish groups vary in size across these states from just a couple of families to established communities.

But with such an array of people across large regions, the AGJC wants to create a sense of companionship among them, in more ways than one.

“As our communities throughout the GCC experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years, we have seen more and more singles move here with an interest in establishing more permanent roots in the region,” said AGJC President Ebrahim Dawood Nonoo. 

The AGJC, calling themselves a "people-to-people" network, launched a project called "Jewish Singles in the Gulf", a match-making site allowing participants to fill out personal details and entrust a group of matchmakers to locate their soul mate from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

“The buzz around JSG has reverberated around the world and in the weeks leading up to the launch of the platform, we received interest from dozens of singles in the region,” said AGJC Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie.

“We are starting with a website and hope to grow this into singles events and programs very soon. It is so important for us to work with singles living in our region to help them find relationships with other Jews.”

Since its establishment, the AGJC hosted a number of events for the growing Jewish population, including creating a Rabbinic Council, the  Beth Din of Arabia, a Kosher Certificate Agency, the pre-Shabbat Zoom initiative, and a first-ever Selihot gathering this past Tishrei. Its website features the Shabbat lighting times in all six Arab countries and offers assistance in procuring any Jewish-life item, from siddurim to hanukkiot. 

“By helping these singles find their spouses in the GCC, they are more likely to get married here and establish their families here, which in turn grows Jewish communal life," said Nonoo.