Jewish leaders in Uzbekistan believe the murder of an assistant to the country’s chief rabbi may have been motivated by anti-Semitism.

But in a letter published by the AEN news agency, community leaders said it is too early to decide on the motives of the crime and warned against “premature conclusions” they fear may hurt the Jewish community in this Central Asian nation.

Karina Loifer, 20, and her mother, Svetlana, were found strangled June 8 in their apartment in the capital Tashkent. Karina Loifer was a secretary of Abe Dovid Gurevich, the chief rabbi of Central Asia. Police investigating the crime believe it is a robbery without anti-Semitic overtones.

According to the community leaders, a spokesman for the Uzbek government’s Committee on Religious Affairs has warned Jewish leaders against “politicizing” the crime.

In February, an Uzbek Jewish leader, Avraam Yagudaev, 33, was killed in what authorities said was a traffic accident. At the time, some Jewish leaders expressed skepticism about that explanation.

Source: JTA

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