Emirati authorities have located the body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi, Tzvi Kogan, who has been missing in the country since Thursday, the Israeli government announced on Sunday. The killing of Tzvi Kogan “is a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry said in a joint statement.
“The State of Israel will use all means at its disposal to ensure that justice is done and that those responsible for his death are held accountable,” they added. The United Arab Emirates is one of the Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, promoted by Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.
A “terrorist” trail without advanced proof
Rabbi Tzvi Kogan was an emissary of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement, long established in the United Arab Emirates according to the Israeli press. Chabad Lubavitch is an ultra-Orthodox movement driven by a global missionary commitment aimed at strengthening Jewish identity and bringing Jews closer to their faith, particularly through its community centers.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated on Saturday that Tzvi Kogan had disappeared for two days in the United Arab Emirates and was already raising a “terrorist” lead, without any details having been provided to support this lead. Mossad, the foreign intelligence service, has opened an investigation, he said.
For their part, the Emirati authorities indicated that they had “immediately launched search operations” to find Tzvi Kogan. The Israeli government did not provide details on Sunday about where the body was found or the identities of the suspects. The circumstances of this rabbi's death remain extremely unclear, including in the Israeli media.
