UAE Arrests Three Suspects Over Killing Of Israeli Rabbi (X image @Chabad)
Abu Dhabi, Dubai: UAE arrested three people in connection with the alleged murder of an Israeli citizen, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, 28, said the Emirati interior ministry. While staying away from providing details on the suspects or disclosing if they had been charged, the ministry said that all legal powers would be used “to respond decisively and without leniency to any actions or attempts that threaten societal stability”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had denounced the killing as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act” and said Israel would do everything it could do to bring those responsible to justice.
Dubai authorities have not revealed if they have established a motive so far. However, without providing any details, Israeli officials say that Kogan was targeted because he was Jewish,
An Israeli foreign ministry official said all Israeli agencies were involved in the investigation and it was believed Kogan had last been seen at a Kosher supermarket in Dubai.
Emirati Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba said Kogan’s murder was a crime against the UAE and “an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision. We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind,” he said in a statement released on X.
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The White House said it was working in close coordination with Israel and the United Arab Emirates. “We condemn in the strongest terms the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE and our prayers are with his family,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.
As per local authority, Kogan was a resident of the UAE and also a Moldovan national. He worked with the New York-based Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement and was first reported missing on Thursday. His body was discovered on Sunday.
Kogan’s body was found in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman. It was not clear if he was killed there or elsewhere, former Israeli politician Ayoob Kara told Reuters in Dubai.
Kara, a member of Israel’s ruling right-wing Likud party who promotes economic relations between Israel and the Arab world, said there were indications that investigators suspected Iranian involvement.
Tel Aviv has re-issued a recommendation to citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Abu Dhabi and said those now there should minimise movement, remain in secure areas and avoid visiting places associated with Israel and Jewish populations.
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Israeli and Jewish community in UAE 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 U.S.-brokered agreement, dubbed the Abraham Accords. UAE has maintained the relationship during the 13-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
However, Israelis and Jews have been less evident in public since Hamas attack on Israeli communities of October 7, 2023, said Reuters. Members of the Jewish community said informal synagogues in Dubai were closed after the October 7 attack on Israel over security concerns, with Jews instead gathering to pray at home.
There are no official synagogues in Dubai, the UAE’s biggest city and commercial hub. The country’s one government-approved synagogue, in Abu Dhabi, remains open. There are no official statistics on the number of Jews or Israelis living in the UAE. Jewish groups estimate there are several thousand, said Reuters.
