The Chabad emissary who was missing in the UAE since Thursday has been found murdered, the Prime Minister’s Office reported Sunday. His death was a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act,” it said.

“The murder of the late Zvi Kogan is a criminal antisemitic terrorist attack,” the Prime Minister's Office said.  “The State of Israel will act by all means and bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice.”
The Mossad and authorities in the UAE had opened the investigation based on information that Kogan’s disappearance might be related to “a terrorist incident.”
“The Israeli mission in Abu Dhabi has been in contact with the family since the beginning of the incident and continues to support them during this difficult time,” the Prime Minister’s Office and the Foreign Ministry said. “His family in Israel has also been informed.”

Investigating the disappearance 

Kogan’s body was found in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman and is about an hour and a half from Dubai. Where he was killed remained unknown, former Likud MK Ayoob Kara said. Even though the UAE is investigating, Iran was responsible for the murder, he said.
Chabad emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan, November 23, 2024. (credit: via walla!)
Chabad emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan, November 23, 2024. (credit: via walla!)
“The one enemy [Israel has] today is terrorism, and Iran that supports the terrorism,” said Kara, a Druze who works to promote economic relations between Israel and the Arab world. “The indication that we have now is this is the direction of the investigation.”
Information in Israel’s possession indicated that Kogan might have been under Iranian surveillance, according to reports.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Kogan’s body would be sent to Israel for burial after the UAE finished investigating, Kara said.
UAE authorities suspect he was abducted by three Uzbek nationals who subsequently fled to Turkey, according to reports. Emirati and Israeli officials have not said who was involved in the killing nor what the motive might have been.
Kogan, who also held Moldovan citizenship, had entered the UAE on his Moldovan passport, the N12 news site reported. The authorities had contacted the Moldovan embassy for support instead of Israel, the report said.
The UAE would remain an “oasis of stability, a society of tolerance and coexistence,” Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, posted Sunday on social media without making direct reference to Kogan’s murder.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all nonessential travel to the UAE. Visitors in the UAE should minimize movement, remain in secure areas, and avoid visiting places associated with Israel and Jewish populations, they said.

Remembering Rabbi Zvi Kogan

Kogan had only been married for a little over a year before his death. Before moving to the UAE, he served in the IDF.
President Isaac Herzog said he “mourned with sorrow and outrage” at the news of Kogan’s death.
“This vile antisemitic attack is a reminder of the inhumanity of the enemies of the Jewish people,” he said. “It will not deter us from continuing to grow flourishing communities in the UAE or anywhere – especially with the help of the dedicated commitment and work of the Chabad emissaries all over the world.”
In response to Kogan’s death, Chabad wrote: “With great pain, we share that Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Abu Dhabi, UAE, was murdered by terrorists after being abducted on Thursday.”
Chabad requested that a mitzvah be carried out in memory of Kogan.

On Saturday evening, worldwide Chabad headquarters in Brooklyn asked people to pray for his safe return.

“We ask everyone to keep Zvi haCohen ben Ettel in your prayers,” Chabad posted on X/Twitter.

The UAE’s Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020, when the country became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a US-brokered agreement, dubbed the Abraham Accords.

The UAE has maintained the relationship during the 13-month Israel-Hamas War.
The presence of Israelis and Jews in the UAE has appeared to recede since the October 7 massacre. Israel’s military response  has sparked protests worldwide.
The UAE’s Jewish community was in shock over the news of Kogan’s murder, Kara said, adding that Israelis and Jews would still visit and build ties in the Gulf country.
“I am sure that lots of Jewish [people] will continue to invest here,” he said. “[There is no] way to stop this relationship and this cooperation.”
Informal synagogues in Dubai were closed after the October 7 massacre over security concerns, with Jews instead gathering to pray at home, members of the Jewish community in the UAE told Reuters.
The one government-approved synagogue in the UAE remains open in Abu Dhabi, the capital city. There are no official synagogues in Dubai, the UAE’s biggest city and commercial hub.
Chabad shluchim and Chabad Houses, which in some locations are the most identifiably Jewish targets, have faced threats before.
Last year, police in Greece said they had foiled a planned attack against the Chabad center in Athens. The suspects in that case had ties to Iran.
In 2019, a gunman in Poway, California, opened fire at a Chabad center, killing one person and wounding the rabbi.
In 2008, six people, including the rabbi and his wife, were murdered when terrorists attacked the Chabad center in Mumbai. Kogan’s wife, who joined him in the UAE, is reportedly the niece of the rabbi murdered in Mumbai.

JTA and Reuters contributed to this report.