On November 25, 2024, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday (November 24) that the body of Israeli Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who had gone missing in the United Arab Emirates several days ago, has been discovered. His murder was condemned as “heinous anti-Semitic terrorism.”
Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old Israeli rabbi, went missing last Thursday in Dubai, where he worked for the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad in the UAE. Chabad aims to provide life support for the thousands of Jewish visitors and residents in this Gulf region Arab country.
Netanyahu stated, “The State of Israel will use all means to bring to justice those responsible for his death.”
Former Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara, in an English interview with Reuters reporters in Dubai, revealed that Kogan’s body was found in Al Ain, a city bordering Oman in the UAE. It is still unclear whether he was murdered there or elsewhere.
Kara stated that he awaits the UAE’s investigation outcome but is inclined to blame Iran for the murder.
He said, “Today, the only enemy (of Israel) is terrorism and Iran’s support for terrorism. The evidence we have now points in that direction.”
Kara, a member of the ruling right-wing Likud Party in Israel, is committed to promoting Israel’s economic relations with the Arab world.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comments.
Kara mentioned that after the conclusion of the investigation by the UAE, Kogan’s body will be transported back to Israel for burial.
Neither the UAE nor Israeli authorities have disclosed who might be involved in the murder or the possible motives behind it.
The UAE’s state news agency reported on Saturday that the country’s Interior Ministry is investigating Kogan’s disappearance, but the Foreign Ministry did not comment on the discovery of his body reported on Sunday.
Kogan also held Moldovan citizenship.
Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, posted on social media on Sunday, stating that the UAE will continue to be a “stable oasis, a tolerant and coexisting society,” without directly addressing Kogan’s murder.
In the meantime, Israeli authorities have once again issued a travel warning, advising Israeli citizens against all non-essential travel to the UAE. They also recommended Jewish tourists currently in the UAE to minimize movement, stay in secure areas, and avoid places related to Israel and Jewish communities.
Since the Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the Gaza War, public activities of Israeli and Jewish people in Arab countries like the UAE seem to have decreased.
According to the Associated Press, Kogan’s wife, Rivky Kogan, is an American citizen who lived with him in the UAE.