The attack by a terrorist in the United Arab Emirates that led to the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan was “a desperate attempt to sabotage the good relations between Israel and the UAE, to sabotage the [Abraham] Accords, and also maybe to harm and intimidate,” said Dan Fefferman, founder of Sharaka and a Middle East affairs analyst.
UAE MURDER
(ILTV)
Speaking to ILTV on Monday, he said that Chabad emissaries were in the UAE well before the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020 and added, “I'm certain they won't allow themselves to be intimidated by this cowardly act.”
Since the signing of the Accords and until the October 7 Hamas massacre, there was a significant influx of tourists traveling from Israel to the UAE. While fewer Emiratis visited Israel, there was—and continues to be—a high level of business travel and deals between the two nations.
“While the UAE has done a remarkable job compared to the rest of the region, and certainly compared to Europe these days or the West in de-radicalizing, in promoting an extremely tolerant society and in protecting vulnerable minorities, you see that such hate crimes can happen anytime, anywhere, and it's virtually impossible to have zero terrorist attacks or hate crimes,” Fefferman stressed. “While I'm not privy to the exact diplomatic or security cooperation happening now, I would expect there to be nothing less than full cooperation and full transparency” in dealing with the murder of Kogan.
First published: 12:31, 11.26.24