The murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan, H’yd has left the Jewish kehilla in the Emirates shaken.
UK’s Guardian reported that Rimon Market, the small kosher supermarket managed by Rabbi Kogan, H’yd, in Dubai was closed on Sunday. The store had suffered online harassment from Palestinians over the past year.
An Associated Press journalist who visited the site on Sunday said that the mezuzahs on the front and back doors of the supermarket appeared to have been ripped off.
The Israeli and Jewish community in the United Arab Emirates began operating openly in 2020, when the UAE became the first Arab country in 30 years to establish official relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords, brokered by the US during the Trump administration.
The UAE has maintained stable diplomatic ties with Israel during the 13 months of the war in Gaza. However, Israelis and Jews in the UAE lowered their public profile in the wake of the worldwide antisemitic and anti-Israel protests that erupted following the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
Community members told Reuters that unofficial shuls in Dubai were closed after October 7 due to security concerns, with Jews davening at home instead. There are no official shuls in Dubai, the largest city and commercial center of the UAE, with the only official shul in the country in the capital city of Abu Dhabi.
There are no official statistics on the number of Jews or Israelis living in the UAE. However, according to Reuters, Jewish groups estimate there are several thousand Jews in the country.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
There’s no good reason for Jews to have moved to the UAE.
Very difficult to get direct flights to Israel these days. One of the only options is to go through Dubai with lengthy stopovers.
We are so sad over the tragic death of Harav Tzvi. zl’ I would say ”Jews come home!” Jews are all over so we must continue with Reb Tzvi’s zl’ holy work. I wish we could get out of Dubai, and other crazy Arab places but right now this is the mission.
They need to take this seriously and catch the guy who stole the mezuzos and have his hand chopped off. why not