3 people arrested in connection with the murder of Israeli academic in UAE

Three people have been arrested in connection with the alleged murder of an Israeli citizen in the United Arab Emirates, the Emirati interior ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry statement did not provide detailed information about the suspects or state whether they had been charged, but stated that all legal powers would be used “to respond decisively and without tolerance to any action or initiative that threatens social stability.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office condemned the killing of 28-year-old rabbi Zvi Kogan as a “heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism” and said Israel would do its best to bring those responsible to justice.

According to local authorities, Kogan was a resident of the UAE and also a Moldovan citizen. He worked for the New York-based Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement and was first reported missing on Thursday. His body was found on Sunday.

The Israeli foreign ministry said all Israeli institutions were involved in the investigation and that Kogan was believed to have been last seen at a Kosher supermarket in Dubai.

Former Israeli politician Ayoob Kara told Reuters in Dubai that Kogan’s body was found in the Emirate’s Al Ain city on the Oman border, but it was not clear whether he was killed there or elsewhere.

Kara, a member of Israel’s ruling right-wing Likud party, which supports economic relations between Israel and the Arab world, said there were signs that investigators suspected Iran was involved.

The Iranian embassy in the UAE said it “categorically rejects allegations that Iran was involved in the killing of this person.”

Israel reissued its advice to citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the UAE, saying those currently there should minimize movement, stay in safe areas and avoid visiting places associated with Israel and its Jewish population.

UAE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN ‘SHOCK’ AFTER RABBI’S MURDER

The UAE’s Israeli and Jewish community have become more visible since 2020, when the UAE became the most prominent Arab state in the past 30 years to establish official ties with Israel under a US-brokered agreement called the Abraham Accords.

The UAE maintained its relations during the 13-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

However, Israelis and Jews have become less prominent in the public eye since the devastating Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, which triggered the Gaza conflict that sparked worldwide protests.

Kara said the Jewish community in the UAE was “shocked” by Kogan’s killing, but that Israelis and Jews would continue to visit, build relationships and invest in the Gulf country.

Kara, who is not Jewish but belongs to the Druze minority in Israel, said, “There is no way to stop this relationship and cooperation.”

Following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, unofficial synagogues in Dubai were closed due to security concerns, and Jews gathered at home to pray instead, members of the Jewish community said.

There is no official synagogue in Dubai, the UAE’s largest city and commercial hub, but the UAE’s only government-sanctioned synagogue remains open in Abu Dhabi.

There are no official statistics on the number of Jews or Israelis living in the UAE. Jewish groups estimate several thousand people.