Israel says missing Israeli rabbi found dead in UAE as a result of ‘anti-Semitic terrorist act’

With Tamar Michaelis, Muhammed Tevfik And Sophie TannoCNN

Zvi Kogan had been missing in the United Arab Emirates since Thursday.
Photograph: Provided / chabad.org

An Israeli rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates was found dead, Israeli officials said on Sunday, describing it as an “act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”

Zvi Kogan, who also holds Moldovan citizenship and is a representative of Chabad, a religious movement of Hasidic Jews with congregations, synagogues and other institutions in many countries, had been missing since Thursday afternoon (local time). Chabad’s official website says he was smuggled out of Dubai.

In a joint statement on Sunday, the Israeli Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Kogan’s body was identified by UAE authorities.

“The murder of Tzvi (Zvi) Kogan as a sacred memory is a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism. The State of Israel will use all the tools at its disposal to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” the statement said. The statement was included.

CNN has contacted the UAE government for comment.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned the killing as a “cowardly and despicable act of anti-Semitic terrorism.”

Israeli authorities reissued travel advisories for citizens, advising against non-essential travel and saying visitors should minimize movement and stay in safe places.

The UAE interior ministry said in a statement on Saturday that it had “received a report from the family of a Moldovan national named Zvi Kogan, stating that he has been missing and out of contact since last Thursday” and confirmed that an investigation was ongoing.

Kogan worked with other Chabad emissaries to establish and expand Judaism in the UAE. He founded the first Jewish educational center in the region and helped make kosher food widely available, according to the Chabad movement’s official website.

Kogan’s wife, Rivky, is a US citizen and her uncle, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, was killed in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

There is a small Jewish community in the UAE, thought to number in the thousands. Last year, the Gulf country opened its first purpose-built synagogue. The interfaith complex, called “Ibrahim Family House”, also includes a mosque and a church.

Relations between the UAE and Israel have thawed in recent years. In 2020, the UAE became the most prominent Arab country in decades to open relations with Israel under the US-brokered agreement known as the Abraham Accords.

But Reuters says the public presence of Israelis and Jews has diminished since the October 7 attacks. Members of the Jewish community told the agency that informal synagogues in Dubai were closed due to security concerns following the attacks.

-CNN