A missing Jewish community leader and rabbi was found dead in the United Arab Emirates Sunday, apparently murdered in what the Israeli government is calling an “act of antisemitic terrorism,” The Wall Street Journal reported. Israel confirmed Sunday that Emirati authorities had found Zvi Kogan’s body.
Israeli-Moldovan citizen Zvi Kogan, 28, hadn’t been seen since Thursday when he disappeared near the Kosher market that he managed in Dubai. Israel’s Mossad spy network became involved when Kogan could not be found by friends and family and it believed he could have been abducted in a terrorist act. Kogan was a representative of the Jewish Chabad movement with his outreach being in Abu Dhabi, where he and his wife lived.
“The murder of Zvi Kogan, of blessed memory, is an abhorrent act of antisemitic terrorism,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “The State of Israel will use all means and will deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law.”
Israel hasn’t publicly implicated any terrorist forces or country but according to a WSJ source, the Israelis are focused on Uzbek citizens who are linked with Iran Iran has used Uzbeks in the past to hit political enemies. Some of the suspects believed to be involved in Kogan’s death may have escaped to Turkey while UAE police have arrested three suspects .
After the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas that has resulted in a year-long war in Gaza, Israel suggested that Israeli citizens and Jews in general might be the focus of terrorist acts by Iran or groups affiliated with it. The Israeli government has cautioned its citizens about traveling outside of the country and to avoid calling any attention to their citizenship or openly calling attention to their Jewish identity. Israel’s National Security Council said on Sunday that the murder of Kogan has confirmed that Israelis and Jews continue to be targets.
The investigation into Kogan’s disappearance began on Thursday when he didn’t show up for an appointment. His body was located about 90 miles from Dubai, a WSJ source said. Israel has had an ongoing battle with Iran over the security of Israelis who live or travel abroad. Iranian intel agents established a killing network in Turkey in 2022 that was foiled by Mossad and Turkish police. Hezbollah tried to assassinate a former Israeli defense minister. Iran says it had nothing to do with Kogan’s abduction or death, the WSJ said.
Kogan went to the UAE before relations between that country and Israel were normalized and he was a major player in reinforcing the Jewish community in the country. His friend, Dudi Rubenstein, believes it was this very kind of community outreach that made him vulnerable to attacks. “If terrorists wanted to harm the Jewish community in Dubai, they knew exactly who to choose,” Rubenstein said in a radio interview with Israel’s public broadcaster.
