By Martins Chisom*
The Shabbat of November 22, 2024, was usual to the various Jews of the world, but the Jewish community of the United Arab Emirates was in disarray. The Chabad emissary to the UAE, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, was missing, sadly. After Shabbat, on Sunday morning, the ugly news was broken: he was found dead, murdered.
Rabbi Kogan has not just fallen victim to renewed antisemitism; his murder signals a fatal crack on the altar of civilization.
Eighty years after the Holocaust and murder of 6 million Jews in Nazi Germany, there is now a clear sign that antisemitism is being globalized. The recent arrest warrant on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court, the attack on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, the failure of the international community to compel Hamas to release Israeli civilians they kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, and now Chabad emissary Rabbi Kogan’s assassination all point to normalization of Jewish hatred, religious intolerance and racial bigotry.
Were the terrorists rational beings, one would have asked them, “Why murder a Chabad emissary?” The Chabad has been like a bridge in a desert, an oasis in the desert of a world full of antagonism and hatred. Chabad emissaries are not diplomats but peacemakers. They are indeed friends amongst foes, and their mission and projects are devoid of political or religious bias.
Though the media portrays Israel as an aggressive country in the Middle East, the fact remains that Israelis are like the bees of this world. They have helped maintain quality of life for humanity, and this very fact is proven through their various life-saving inventions in technology, medicine, education etc. Their country is likened to a beehive which is full of honey, and, like bees facing existential threats, their soldiers fight to protect their home from attacks by sworn enemies who are birthed and raised to kill Jews and destroy The Nation of Israel.
Given the opportunity, Israel would pay any price for peace. This is true when we consider the hefty cost of war on Israel. Whereas her enemies are large in population with armies of chaos, born and raised for death, Israeli armies are mostly reservist, renowned technocrats, academics etc. mobilized to fight for the defence of their home. Sadly, many of these high-value Israelis die on the warfronts. Consequently, the world loses investors, academics, technocrats etc. in the hands of savages.
No other country in the world would tolerate daily barrage of missiles fired indiscriminately into her civilian community, killing anyone on sight, traumatizing the populace who have only 30 seconds to run into nearby bomb shelters from missiles fired from Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran etc.
Permit me to share my personal encounter with Chabad: My first encounter with Chabad was in 2016 when I returned from postgraduate studies in Israel. I was fascinated by the Israeli natural hospitality, resilience and kindness. During this time, I was hosted to a Shabbat weekend by the Sarah Alpert family in Beith Shemesh, and I was given warm welcome, though I was a stranger from Africa. The Israeli communal hospitality left an endearing mark on me, such that, upon my return to Nigeria, I decided to seek out Israelis living in Nigeria so I could show them kindness as well. And that led me to set up “I Love Israel Network Inc”, a pro-Israel advocacy network. I visited the Israeli Embassy in Abuja to request a link to the leader of the Israeli community in Nigeria so we could develop a joint humanitarian project to help Jews in Nigeria. After a series of security checks, I was connected to Rabbi Israel Uzan, who is the Chief Rabbi and Chabad emissary in Nigeria.
Our meeting was like that of a brother who found his missing sibling. There was no discrimination against me as a Christian or due to social or racial differences, and we became partners in humanitarian projects. I recall him telling me that Nigeria was now his permanent place of assignment and that his job was to shine the light of God’s goodness in Nigeria. And true to his words, we partnered to host the first public Hanukkah festival in Nigeria. We began several charity projects together such as total rebuilding and equipping of schools in rural communities. Hyel Glory School, Karon Magiji, Abuja, is one of several beneficiaries of our efforts so far, and we are not relenting.
The Chabad emissary in Nigeria under Rabbi Uzan has sunk boreholes to provide water to several Fulani nomadic settlements across the suburbs of Abuja. These humanitarian acts have been carried out by the Chabad emissary who has never considered beneficiaries’ religion or tribe; the majority of the beneficiaries have been Muslim communities. I’m also aware of several Ramadan food drive for the Islamic communities during Islamic festivities.
The world should stand with Israel against hatred and discrimination. The Jews have a right to life and existence, as do all other peoples of the world. They must be protected from terrorists. The world should stand with Israel against hatred and discrimination. The recent activities of stateless actors on the streets of the civilized West such as Toronto, New York, London, Amsterdam, Paris and South Africa have raised concerns about the globalization of antisemitism of the pre-Holocaust era.
The right of Jews to live in dignity anywhere in the world without fear of molestation must be protected. Rabbi Kogan should be the last citizen of The State of Israel to die on account of antisemitism. His killers must be brought to justice.
Terrorists are the enemy. And Israel has served the world as a bulwark against terrorist and religious fundamentalism. It remains the bastion of democracy amongst the repressive governments in the Middle East nations — Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Jews, Arabs and others enjoy equal right to freedom of worship and association.
Time and again, Israel has proven her desire for peaceful coexistence with its neighbors. She has demonstrated this desire by giving up huge territories and resources, pulling out an entire Jewish family, both the living and those in the grave, for a Gaza state. Sadly, Hamas has turned a flourishing Gaza economy inherited from Israel into a war zone and a killing field. Hezbollah also has destroyed Lebanon which was dubbed the “Switzerland of the Middle East”, into a war zone with a network of terror tunnels instead of industries and commerce.
Religious intolerance and terrorism in Africa could be traced to illiteracy and poverty. In the case of the Middle East, however, the problem is more related to ideology. For instance, “kill for pay” as practised by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank means “get paid for killing a Jew”. Such barbarism must not be tolerated, and must stop.
This ideological problem is not tempered by education. I had a personal encounter: As a postgraduate student at Hebrew University, I requested to be paired in the same flat with an Arab, because I was interested in understanding the other side of the story. At that time, my roommate became a very close friend. One day, while we were going together to an Arab village for shopping, we started a deep conversation. And he told me how Israel had oppressed them and how he wished to be a Shaheed. And that was a student of Pharmaceutical Engineering on Israeli scholarship! So, if an educated Arab wanted to sacrifice himself in order to destroy Israel, it means the problem is not a territorial dispute but rather an ideologically-driven hatred.
In memory of Rabbi Kogan, we call for a global effort for peace and tolerance.
*Engr. Chisom, president of ‘I Love Israel Network Inc’, writes from Abuja, Nigeria.
