The United Arab Emirates confirms founding the Israeli rabbi’s body and announces arrest of three people

The United Arab Emirates confirmed on Sunday the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan citizen and said it had arrested three suspects over what Israel called an “anti-Semitic terrorist attack”.

The UAE Ministry of Interior announced in a statement carried by the official news agency that “the competent UAE authorities were able, in record time, to arrest the perpetrators of the murder of Tzvi Kogan”.

The UAE Ministry of Interior described Kogan as holding Moldovan citizenship according to the documents he used to enter the UAE, where he resided.

His family had filed a report about his disappearance, which prompted the formation of a search and investigation team that was able to find the body and identify the suspects, who number three people.

The UAE Interior Ministry didn’t provide details about the detainees, but said that “all the circumstances of the incident will be announced after the investigations are completed”.

Kogan was an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, a strict and puritanical movement that aims to strengthen Jewish identity and bring Jews closer to their faith, particularly through its community centers.

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement expressed deep pain over the killing of this rabbi at the hands of terrorists after his kidnapping on Thursday.

For its part, the Israeli authorities said that Tzvi Kogan murder is a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office and the Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement, “The intelligence and security authorities in the UAE have found the body of Tzvi Kogan, who has been missing since Thursday, November 21, 2024”.

The statement added, “The Israeli Embassy in Abu Dhabi has been in contact with the family since the beginning of the incident and continues to accompany them during their difficult time”.

The statement continued, “The murder of Tzvi Kogan is a criminal, anti-Semitic terrorist incident, and Israel will take action by all means and bring to justice the criminals responsible for his murder”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his country will use all means to punish the killers of the Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in the UAE, describing the incident as a heinous anti-Semitic terrorist attack.

“The State of Israel will use all means, and will deal with these murderers and those who sent them to the fullest extent of the law… No one will escape,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.

On Saturday, Netanyahu’s office and the Mossad intelligence agency said in a joint statement that Rabbi Tzvi Kogan, an Israeli citizen of Moldovan origin residing in the UAE, disappeared under mysterious circumstances since Thursday afternoon.

The UAE authorities also announced on Saturday that they are searching for a Moldovan citizen who is missing in the country.

According to the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Kogan was officially residing in the UAE as an assistant to the Chief Rabbi of Abu Dhabi.

Kogan is a member of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement which is an extremist organization that doesn’t believe in the existence of Palestinians and calls for their expulsion from occupied Palestine.

It opposes any agreement that would give them part of the land.

The organization’s members are present in several countries, including the United States, France, and Canada, in addition to the UAE, where they established the Jewish community center, which contains a synagogue and Torah scrolls.

The center is headed by Rabbi Levi Duchman.

On Sunday, Israel called on its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to the UAE, after the body of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan, who has been missing since last Thursday, was found.

The statement read, “Following reports of Tzvi Kogan murder in the United Arab Emirates as a result of a terrorist act, the National Security Council has tightened its recommendation to avoid non-essential travel to the country”/

The statement added, “The National Security Council asks (Israelis in the Emirates) to exercise increased vigilance in public places, avoid displaying Israeli symbols, and avoid posting details of the trip on social media”.