U.S. Working With UAE, Israel After Killing Of Rabbi

The White House has said that it is working in close coordination with Israel and the UAE on the “murder” of rabbi Zvi Kogan in the Gulf country.

Meanwhile, authorities in UAE have arrested three people in connection with the death of the Israeli rabbi, according to CNN.

Zvi Kogan, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the United Arab Emirates, disappeared in Dubai last Thursday.

His body was later found in the Emirati city of Al Ain, near the Omani border.

“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.

The 28 year- old rabbi leaves behind his wife, Rivky Spielman who is from New York.

Rabbi and Rivky got married in 2022.

Notably, Rivky is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the Chabad emissaries murdered by terrorists together with four of their guests at Chabad of Mumbai in 2008.

Born in 1996 to Alexander and Etel Kogan in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem, Zvi Kogan grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family.

Soon after the rabbi went missing, the UAE Interior Ministry said that it was investigating its disappearance.

The ministry said that it will utilize all legal powers to respond decisively and without leniency to any actions or attempts that threaten societal stability.

Kogan’s remains are expected to be repatriated to Israel once Emirati authorities conclude their investigation.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the crime as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act.”

He expressed deep shock on behalf of the government, the citizens and all the people of Israel – at Kogan’s kidnapping and murder.

“May his memory be a blessing,” Netanyahu said on Sunday.

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

Netanyahu’s office said that the Mossad spy agency is leading the investigation.

Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara, a member of the ruling Likud party, linked the murder to Iranian-backed terrorism.

Kara suggested the investigation pointed to Iran’s involvement, though official Emirati sources have not substantiated these claims.

Kogan, who supported Jewish residents and visitors in the UAE, was known for fostering religious life in the region.

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad movement said, “The worldwide Chabad community, and the international community at large are shocked, grieving and outraged.”

After their wedding, the Kogans moved permanently to the Emirates.

While Rivky taught in the local Jewish school, Zvi managed logistics at the Chabad center in Abu Dhabi.

Kogan managed the kosher supermarket in Dubai—Rimon Market—which opened in December of 2022.

He also acted as an aide to Rabbi Levi Duchman, director of Chabad of the UAE.

He was also instrumental in the building of Dubai’s first ever mikvah which was completed in 2021.

(With inputs from Reuters)