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On November 24, 2024, Israel said that the body of an Israeli Moldovan rabbi, who had gone missing in the United Arab Emirates, had been found. The UAE's Interior Ministry later said authorities arrested three Uzbek nationals involved in the killing of the rabbi, Zvi Kogan.
Kogan, 28, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who went missing on November 21, ran a kosher grocery store in Dubai, where Israelis have flocked for commerce and tourism since the two countries forged diplomatic ties via the 2020 Abraham Accords.
Reacting to the news, jihadi outlets on Telegram celebrated the murder, claiming the rabbi had been an officer in the IDF, or had counseled IDF soldiers. Posts further condemned the UAE authorities for seeking to arrest the preparators and "hiding" the Israeli nationality of the victim.
Pro-ISIS Outlets Discredit UAE For Normalizing Ties With Israel, Claims Rabbi Was An Officer
Adding its own spin to news, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Bariqah News Agency claimed that Kogan was a "Jewish [military] officer and rabbi," mocking the UAE authorities for considering his killing as an "antisemitic terror attack."[1]
Commenting on the Emirati authorities' effort to arrest the perpetrators, the outlet described them as the "infidel authorities," when it pointed out that they suspect that three citizens from Uzbekistan were behind the murder.
The outlet also cited Israeli intelligence reports as claiming that the attackers were acting on behalf of "the antagonistic Zoroastrian [a derogatory for Iran] intelligence."
Doubling down on its resentment of UAE authorities, the pro-ISIS outlet shared a second post condemning the "intelligence agencies of the Al Zayed infidels [i.e., the UAE ruling family]" for arresting three suspects who were involved in the murder.
Discrediting the UAE for following "manmade laws," instead of Islamic laws, the post argued that the perpetrators would face execution for "killing a criminal infidel Jew who was involved in shedding the blood of Palestine's Muslims."
The outlet further disparaged the normalization of ties between Israel and the UAE, telling Muslims that about "3000 jews are permanent residents of the Masonic statelet of the Al Zayed infidels, and that the country hosts kosher restaurants, synagogues, and Jewish businesses."
Pro-Hamas Outlet: He Wanted To Build A House In Gaza
The pro-Hamas "Gaza Now" Telegram outlet broke the news with a post alleging that Kogan had, in the past, vowed to build a house for himself inside Gaza.[2]
Celebrating his abduction, it wrote: "The Zionist occupation officially announces the disappearance of a senior Zionist rabbi in the Emirates. The rabbi had promised the people of Gaza that he would build his first house in the middle of the Strip, and the Zionist Mossad says that what happened indicates that it was a abduction operation."
Hamas Supporter: He Taught Israeli Soldiers Principles Of Crime And Murder
Yassin Izzeldin, a pro-Hamas Telegram user, wrote a post glorifying the perpetrators:
"The UAE authorities announced the arrest of three young men from Uzbekistan on charges of carrying out the murder of the rabbi. The three heroes are Olympoy Toherovic (28 years old), Mahmoud John Abdul Rahim (28 years old), and Azizbek Kamilovic (33 years old)."[3]
He claimed that "the UAE regime did not provide any further information about them, while insisting on describing the rabbi as a Moldovan citizen."
Mocking claims about the victim's nationality, he said: "Glory be to Allah, an officer in the Givati Brigade that commits atrocities in Gaza and a rabbi in the 'Chabad' group which teaches the occupation soldiers the principles of crime and murder, and then they say he is a Moldovan citizen."
He argued that the UAE does not want to turn the preparators into a model that could inspire young Muslims to commit similar attacks, therefore it is insisting on hiding Kogan's Israeli nationality and that he was an "officer in the occupation army."
Questioning UAE's claims that it had arrested the perpetrators, he added:
"As a reminder, the Israeli media reported from day one that the perpetrators were from Uzbekistan, but it said that day that they had left for Turkey. It is not clear whether they actually left and were then handed over to the UAE or not, [or] if it was a lie fabricated by the Israeli media."
Pro-Hamas Outlet: Attacks Will Inspire New AI Animations
"Cartoon Filistin," a Palestinian Telegram channel which specializes in AI animated productions that incite violence against Israel, shared a post celebrating Kogan's death and the attack on the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan, when a gunman shot and wounded three policeman patrolling the embassy.[4]
The post said both attacks have inspired the channel's staff to produce new animation.
"In the Emirates, a rabbi soldier was assassinated, and in Jordan, the embassy was targeted. What is the idea of our new cartoon, I wonder? Soon, by Allah's willing."
