Israel has confirmed the body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the UAE has been found, with the government calling it a "heinous antisemitic terror incident."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel "will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death."
Zvi Kogan, 28, who ran a Kosher shop in Dubai, went missing on Thursday amid suspicions he had been kidnapped, according to AP..
The Body of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabad Israeli-Moldovan living in Abu Dhabi, has been discovered by Authorities in the United Arab Emirates; with him believed to have been Kidnapped and Murdered by Iranian Agents. pic.twitter.com/51Vj6aH4CD
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) November 24, 2024
His disappearance came as Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, had been threatening to retaliate after a wave of air strikes Israel carried out in October in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack.
The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgement that Mr Kogan had been found dead.
His wife, Rivky, is a US citizen who lived with him in the UAE. She is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, who was killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
I mourn with sorrow and outrage the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 24, 2024
This vile antisemitic attack is a reminder of the inhumanity of the enemies of the Jewish people. It will not deter us from continuing to grow flourishing communities in the UAE or anywhere - especially with the help…
The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.
It described Mr Kogan as being an emissary of the branch, which is based in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighbourhood in New York.
Early on Sunday, the UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported Mr Kogan's disappearance but pointedly did not acknowledge he held Israeli citizenship, referring to him only as being Moldovan.
The Emirati Interior Ministry described Mr Kogan as being "missing and out of contact", adding: "Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report."
The Rimon Market, a Kosher grocery shop Mr Kogan managed on Dubai's busy Al Wasl Road, was shut on Sunday.
Israel's largely ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, condemned the killing and thanked Emirati authorities for "their swift action". He said he trusts they "will work tirelessly to bring the perpetrators to justice".
