Iran Murders Chabad Envoy to the Emirates Rabbi Zvi Kogan After They Kidnapped Him

Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad Envoy to the Emirates, Has Been Kidnapped By Iran

Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad Envoy to the Emirates, who was kidnapped from United Arab Emirates has been found murdered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday, denouncing his death as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act.”

No words. And the global left stands with these monsters.

Baruch Dayan Haemet
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.
His body was recovered early Sunday morning, and his family has been notified.
Please do a mitzvah in… pic.twitter.com/UwKmGqu3YK

— Chabad.org (@Chabad) November 24, 2024

“The state of Israel will use all means at its disposal to bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice,” the prime minister’s statement said.

Rabbi Zvi is a Moldovan citizen whose family moved to Jerusalem. His wife Rivka is American. Her mother is a sister of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg the Chabad Rabbi of Mumbai who was murdered by Islamic terrorists in November 2008 together with his wife Rivky and four guests.

Chabadniks are among the kindest and most selfless people you will ever meet.

Today the Mullahs in Iran took advantage of that kindness to kidnap Rabbi Zvi Kogan and murder him in cold blood.

All because he committed the crime of being born a Jew. pic.twitter.com/16x7a1o6GX

— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) November 24, 2024

Here is kidnapped Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan leading the mourner’s prayer during a Joint Holocaust Commemoration Event in UAE.

The Rabbi moved to the UAE to build bridges of peace, and the Islamic Regime has used him as a target of their hate. pic.twitter.com/mhyQlfoaqp

— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) November 23, 2024

Missing Israeli Rabbi found murdered in UAE, Netanyahu vows revenge on killers

By Reuters, NY Post, Nov. 24, 2024:

An Israeli man who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found murdered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday, denouncing his death as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act.”

Zvi Kogan, a rabbi who worked in the Gulf Arab country for an Orthodox Jewish group called Chabad, vanished in Dubai on Thursday.

“The state of Israel will use all means at its disposal to bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice,” the prime minister’s statement said.

The UAE foreign ministry did not immediately comment on news that the body of Kogan, who also held Moldovan citizenship, had been discovered. Chabad’s office in the UAE declined to comment.

Chabad seeks to build links with non-affiliated and secular Jews or other sects of Judaism. The group’s branch in the UAE supports thousands of Jewish visitors and residents, according to its website.

Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimize movement, remain in secure areas and avoid visiting businesses, gathering places and entertainment venues associated with Israel and Jewish populations.

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 U.S.-brokered agreement, dubbed the Abraham Accords.

The UAE has maintained the relationship during the 13-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan was found murdered after going missing in the United Arab Emirates Sunday. 3
A man walks past the Rimon Market, a Kosher grocery store Kogan managed before his death. AP

However, the public presence of Israelis and Jews in the UAE has appeared to recede since the devastating Hamas cross-border attack on Israeli communities of Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the Gaza conflict, which has sparked protests worldwide.

Jewish community members told Reuters that informal synagogues in Dubai were closed after the Oct. 7 assault due to security concerns, with Jews instead gathering in small groups at each others’ houses for prayers and Shabbat services.

The one government-approved synagogue in the UAE remains open in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. There are no official synagogues in Dubai, the UAE’s biggest city and commercial hub.

There are no official statistics on the number of Jews or Israelis living in the country, but estimates from Jewish groups suggest the community numbers in the several thousand.

Jews have lived in the UAE for decades and largely practiced their faith discreetly until in 2019, when the government began publicly acknowledging their presence.