High-ranking UAE official attends Rabbi Zvi Kogan’s shiva

During the shiva call, Nuaimi stressed that his country will continue to seek coexistence and will not let extremists threaten this goal.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a senior representative of the United Arab Emirates, arrived in Jerusalem on Friday to pay his respects to terror victim rabbi Zvi Kogan, Israel Hayom reports.

Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi visited the Kogan family sitting shiva, a seven-day Jewish mourning observance.

During the shiva call, Nuaimi stressed that his country will continue to seek coexistence and will not let extremists threaten this goal.

“The state and its citizens are more committed than ever to the values of openness and peace and will increase their efforts to ensure that Rabbi Zvi’s legacy continues and that all communities live in harmony in the UAE,” the senior official said.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the UAE, Amir Hayek, joined Nuaimi’s visit to the Kogan family home.

On Sunday, following the discovery of Rabbi Kogan’s body, Emirati Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al-Otaiba said in a statement, “Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and community over his senseless death. Zvi Kogan’s murder was more than a crime in the UAE – it was a crime against the UAE. It was an attack on our homeland, on our values, and on our vision.”

“In the UAE, we welcome everyone. We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind. We honor Zvi Kogan’s memory by recommitting ourselves to these values.”

“Now, we are more determined than ever to protecting and sustaining the Emirates as a shining and enduring example of diversity, acceptance and peace.”

Last Thursday, 28-year-old Chabad emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who served as an aide to the chief rabbi of the UAE and operated a kosher grocery shop in Abu Dhabi, was declared missing.

Over the weekend, his body was found by UAE security personnel in a suspected terror attack.