Tragic Death of Israeli Rabbi in UAE

An Israeli rabbi named Zvi Kogan, also a citizen of Moldova, was found dead in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This horrible event is being labeled an antisemitic terrorist act by Israeli authorities. Zvi, a representative of the Chabad religious movement, had been missing since Thursday. Chabad's website mentioned he was abducted from Dubai. UAE authorities located Zvi's body on Sunday. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement calling his death a heinous antisemitic terrorist act. They vowed to use all means available to bring the perpetrators to justice. At a cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the same message. He expressed condolences to Zvi's family, highlighting that his murder was a horrendous act of terror.

Zvi played a crucial role in establishing Judaism in the UAE. He founded the first Jewish education center in the region and helped make kosher food widely available. His wife Rivky is a US national, and her uncle was a victim of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The UAE has a small Jewish community, thought to number in the thousands. In 2021, the country opened its first-ever purpose-built synagogue, part of an interfaith complex called the “Abrahamic Family House. ” While relations between the UAE and Israel improved significantly in recent years, with the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, the public presence of Israelis and Jews has shrunk since the recent fatal attacks. Some Jewish community members reported that informal synagogues in Dubai were closed due to security fears.

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