UAE Confirms Murder of Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi Kogan, Three Suspects In Custody

Last Updated:November 25, 2024, 00:01 IST

Tzvi Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who ran a Kosher grocery store. He went missing on Thursday.

Tzvi Kogan's murder in the UAE sparked anger in Israel amid tensions in the Middle East. (Reuters)

The United Arab Emirates on Sunday confirmed the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi who went missing earlier, after Israel said his body was discovered and denounced the incident as an anti-Semitic “terrorist attack". The UAE said three suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder.

“The Ministry of Interior announced that the UAE authorities have arrested in record time the three perpetrators involved in the murder" of Tzvi Kogan, a statement carried by the official WAM news agency said, a day after Israel said the rabbi had been killed.

Israel on Sunday said the body of the rabbi had been found. A statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called it a “criminal anti-Semitic terrorist act" and vowed to “act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death."

Tzvi Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has a sizable presence of Israelis for commerce and tourism after the two countries forged diplomatic ties in the 2020 Abraham Records. Kogan reportedly went missing on Thursday.

While the Israeli statement did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have carried out past kidnappings in the UAE. Iran has been accused of kidnapping and killing British Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, though Tehran has denied involvement.

ALSO READ: Rabbi Kogan, Murdered In UAE, Nephew Of Rabbi Killed In 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks: Report

Netanyahu ‘Deeply Shocked’ Over Kogan’s Death

Netanyahu told a regular Cabinet meeting later on Sunday that he was “deeply shocked" by Kogan’s disappearance and death. He said he appreciated the cooperation of the UAE in the investigation and said that ties between the two countries would continue to be strengthened.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the killing and thanked authorities in the UAE for “their swift action". Kogan was an emissary of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of ultra-Orthodox Judaism based in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood in New York City. It said he was last seen in Dubai.

The Kosher grocery store called the Rimon Market managed by Kogan was shut on Sunday. Amid the war in Gaza, the store became the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters. Kogan’s wife, Rivky, is a US citizen who lived with him in the UAE. She is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Earlier today, the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency acknowledged Kogan’s disappearance but did not acknowledge he held Israeli citizenship, referring to him only as being Moldovan. The Emirati Interior Ministry described Kogan as being “missing and out of contact."

“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report," the Interior Ministry said.

(with inputs from agencies)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

News world UAE Confirms Murder of Israeli-Moldovan Rabbi Kogan, Three Suspects In Custody