3 Uzbek citizens arrested in connection with the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in the UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates said on Monday that police had arrested three Uzbek citizens in connection with the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi. This attack raised concerns for the developing Israeli society in the country.

A statement from the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs offered no justification for Zvi Kogan’s killing, but an official with the Israeli Foreign Ministry later told The Associated Press that he was simply “killed because of who he was.”

Kogan, 28, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who disappeared on Thursday, ran a kosher grocery store in the city of Dubai, where Israelis from the two countries flock for trade and tourism. Diplomatic relations strengthened in 2020 Abraham Accords.

The agreement has survived despite more than a year of rising regional tensions. Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. But Israel’s devastating retaliatory strike in Gaza and invasion of Lebanon after months of clashes with the Hezbollah militant group have fueled anger among Emiratis, Arab citizens and others living in the UAE.

In the statement made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the names of the three people in question were stated as Olimboy Tohirovich (28), Makhmudjon Abdurakhim (28) and Azizbek Kamilovich (33). The state-run WAM news agency published photos of three men blindfolded, covering their faces, wearing prison uniforms and flip-flops.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the preliminary investigation into the men was “preparation to refer them to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation”.

It was not immediately clear whether the three men had lawyers or sought consular assistance in the UAE, a country of seven autocratically ruled sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. The Uzbek Consulate in Dubai did not respond to a request for comment on the arrests.

In the news in the Israeli press, based on unnamed security officials, there were allegations that Uzbeks were involved in the murder of Kogan. Uzbeks and other transnational criminal gangs have previously been recruited in Iran’s plots targeting dissidents and others.

Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, also threatened retaliation against Israel. Wave of air strikes carried out by Israel in October In response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack. Iran’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi denied Tehran’s involvement in the rabbi’s murder.

Although Iran was not mentioned in the UAE statement, Iranian intelligence services have carried out kidnappings in the UAE in the past.

Western officials believe Iran is conducting intelligence operations in the UAE and is tracking hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters on Monday that the “terrorists” who killed the rabbi would be brought to justice and pointed to the “axis of evil,” a phrase Israel uses for Iran and its allies. This echoed remarks made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, who also used the phrase “axis of evil”.

Kogan’s wife Rivky is an American citizen. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nayhan to condemn Kogan’s killing.

Blinken “appreciates the UAE’s long-standing tradition and commitment to tolerance and freedom of worship, as well as close security cooperation with the United States and other partners in the region,” the State Department said.

President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped broker the Abraham Accords, donated $1 million to Chabad UAE, the religious organization where Kogan works. Kushner’s brother Joshua also donated another $1 million.

“Let us come together from all faiths to pick up where Rabbi Kogan left off and take his work and the work of those who have made the UAE a thriving destination of tolerance, bridge-building and mutual benefit to new heights,” Jared Kushner said. he said. on social platform X.

Kogan’s body was returned to Israel on Monday ahead of his funeral, which was scheduled for the next day. Her coffin, covered with a prayer shawl, arrived in Kfar Chabad, Israel, before a crowd of hundreds gathered in the rain to honor her on Monday night.

“How long will the Jews continue to die for the blessing of God?” Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Aharonov asked those gathered.

The procession then took Kogan’s body for burial on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

An Israeli Foreign Ministry official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation and diplomatic matters, said officials believe Kogan’s death was due to his ultra-Orthodox Jewish identity and not to anything else.

“He was attacked because of who he is,” the official said.

Israelis and Jews in the UAE have been on edge since the October 7 attacks. The official said the ritual, which normally requires 10 Jewish men, still occurs, but not in places previously used by the community.

The official acknowledged that tensions were likely simmering below the surface in the UAE, but praised the Emirati government for its investigations into Kogan’s killing. Israeli security services are involved in the investigation, the official said. This likely includes Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service.

While the UAE strongly criticized the Israeli army’s behavior in the Gaza Strip, it also maintained diplomatic relations with Israel. Israeli diplomats also returned to Bahrain, the official said.

“They may not accept what we did in the war… but dialogue allows them to send all humanitarian aid,” the official said of the Emirati government.

The official added: “It was putting a strain on the relationship, but in a way it’s keeping it strong.”

The RANE Network, a risk consultancy, further warned that countries such as the UAE that normalize ties with Israel “will face a similarly low risk of attacks on Israeli, Jewish and even Western individuals and businesses by lone actors, small cells or jihadist groups.” “It is alleged that he has ties to Israel.”

“The incident underlines the increasing anti-Israeli sentiment in the region due to the war in Gaza, as well as the ongoing shadow war between Iran and Israel,” the statement said.