Back in 2004, the Chief Rabbi of Central Asia, Rabbi Abraham Dovid Gurevich, raised the issue of antisemitism, hinting that the prospect of a synagogue standing next to the Palace of Nations would cause embarrassment to the authorities, but the US State Department framed the issue as "bureaucratic, rather than ideological". UNESCO wrote a letter to the government of Tajikistan in 2004 that destruction of the synagogue would be in "contradiction with international standards for the protection of cultural heritage". The BBC reported in 2006 that "those opposed to the demolition had been threatened by officials and most of the congregation are afraid to speak out".