Chabad emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan is suspected to have been kidnapped and murdered in the United Arab Emirates by Islamic terrorists who have escaped to Turkey, Hebrew outlet Ynet reported on Saturday.
Israel’s Mossad and UAE intelligence agencies are investigating the case, after Kogan stopped communicating with his family on Wednesday.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement on behalf of the Mossad and the National Security Council, saying that “Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen and Chabad emissary residing in the United Arab Emirates, has been missing since Thursday afternoon (Nov. 21, 2024).
“Since his disappearance, and in the wake of information of terrorist involvement, an intensive investigation has been launched in the country,” the statement read.
“Israeli intelligence and security agencies are working tirelessly for the safety and well-being of Zvi Kogan. The National Security Council has previously issued a Level 3 travel warning (moderate threat) for the United Arab Emirates, advising against non-essential travel to the destination and recommending heightened precautions for those staying there,” the PMO said.
Kogan is an emissary for the Abu Dhabi Chabad branch, and runs a kosher supermarket in the UAE, according to Ynet.
Chabad is one of the largest religious Jewish organizations in the world, with branches in scores of countries.
Security officials told Ynet that “we know he was followed in the kosher supermarket that he managed in Abu Dhabi. His traces disappeared this week. We understand that those responsible [for his disappearance] have escaped to Turkey. His body has not been found.”
According to local media, suspicions that Kogan was killed are only speculation.
Ynet reported that after Kogan failed to arrive at meetings priorly scheduled on Wednesday, his wife contacted the Chabad security officer, who appealed to higher authorities about his disappearance. He reportedly went missing from a location about an hour and a half from Dubai.
An Israeli who lives in Abu Dhabi and is acquainted with Kogan told Ynet that the rabbi “is a nice guy who is very active in the community. His family is ruined and the Israeli and Jewish community is appalled. Kogan was the assistant of Chabad’s chief rabbi in the Emirates and formed and managed the kosher supermarket of the community.”
Relations between Israel and the UAE were normalized with the Abraham Accords in the fall of 2020, and despite criticisms from Abu Dhabi of Jerusalem’s conduct during its war against Iranian-backed terrorist groups, a senior Emirati official said late last month that normalization is not at risk.
(JNS)