Murder of rabbi in UAE leads to three arrests

Police arrested three Uzbek citizens in connection with the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi, United Arab Emirates officials said on Monday, according to Israeli media reports.

Zvi Kogan, 28, is an ultra-orthodox rabbi. He disappeared in Dubai on Thursday.

Kogan ran a kosher grocery store in Dubai that has been inundated with Israelis since Israel and the UAE established diplomatic relations under the 2020 Abraham Accords.

Grocer The Rimon Market was closed on Sunday.

The market has previously faced online protests from professionals.Palestine supporters.

According to the observations made by an official, it was revealed that the Jewish symbols called Mezuza attached to the front and back doors of the market were forcibly removed. Associated Press journalist.

Kogan’s wife, Rivky Kogan, is a US citizen and the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in 2015. 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The UAE Ministry of Internal Affairs identified the three suspects as 28-year-old Olimpi Tohirovic; Mahmud John Abdul Rahim, 28; and Azizi Kamilovic, 33.

state run WAM The news agency published blurry images of the suspects and did not say whether charges had been filed.

It remains unclear whether the suspects have legal representation in the UAE.

news week He reached the Uzbek Consulate in Dubai via social media.

Could Iran Have Participated in the Murder?

In Israeli media reports based on unnamed security officials, it was claimed that the suspects in Kogan’s murder were of Uzbek origin.

Uzbek citizens have reportedly been involved in previous Iranian operations targeting dissidents and other individuals.

Supported by Iran Hamas and Hezbollah was threatening to retaliate against Israel following a wave of Israeli airstrikes against Iran in October. This attack by Israel was made in response to Iran’s previous ballistic missile attack.

Iran’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi denied Tehran’s involvement in the rabbi’s murder.

Is Iran Secretly Operating in the UAE?

Western officials believe Iran conducts active intelligence operations in UAE. It is also understood that Iranian intelligence agencies are monitoring hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country.

Iranian He is suspected of kidnapping and later killing British Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, although Tehran denies involvement.

Iran also kidnapped German-Iranian national Jamshid Sharmahd from Dubai in 2020 and took him back to Tehran, where he was executed in October.

What Was the USA’s Reaction to the Murder of the Rabbi in the UAE?

US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement on Sunday that Kogan’s killing was “a terrible crime against all those who advocate peace, tolerance and coexistence.”

“We condemn in the strongest terms the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE, and our prayers are with his family, the Chabad-Lubavitch community, the wider Jewish community and all who mourn his loss,” Savett said. he said.

This article contains reporting from the Associated Press