Israel announced on Sunday the murder in the United Arab Emirates of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi, denouncing a “heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism” which sparked strong indignation in the country.
The body of Tzvi Kogan, missing since Thursday in the Emirates where he was based, was found lifeless by the Emirati authorities, said the Prime Minister's Office and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This murder “is a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism,” they said in a joint statement, specifying that “the State of Israel will use all means at its disposal to ensure that justice is done and that those responsible for its dead answer for their actions.
No details were provided on where the body was found, nor on the circumstances of the murder or on the identity of the suspects.
The Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, has opened an investigation, Mr. Netanyahu's office said on Saturday, announcing the disappearance of the rabbi and already evoking the “terrorist” trail, without any details having been released. provided to support this lead.
The circumstances of this rabbi's death remain extremely unclear.
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.
Israeli authorities, however, renewed the warning to Israelis to avoid all non-essential travel to the Gulf country and advised citizens already there to take additional precautions.
“This vile anti-Semitic attack reminds us of the inhumanity of the enemies of the Jewish people,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog commented on the social network X.
“It will not prevent us from continuing to develop thriving communities in the United Arab Emirates or elsewhere,” he assured.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz denounced, also on X, “a cowardly and despicable anti-Semitic terrorist crime.”
The discreet Emirates
Married for six months according to Israeli media, Rabbi Tzvi Kogan was an emissary of Chabad Lubavitch, an ultra-orthodox Hasidic movement driven by a global missionary commitment aimed at strengthening Jewish identity and bringing Jews closer to their faith.
In a message on
For their part, the Emirati authorities have observed extreme discretion regarding this murder which they have not commented on.
On Saturday, they indicated that they had “immediately launched search operations” to find Tzvi Kogan, whom they then presented as Moldovan, without mentioning his Israeli nationality.
A federation of seven emirates tightly controlled by the ruling family, the Emirates prides itself on being a tolerant and safe country.
The rich oil state, whose overwhelming majority of the population is made up of expatriates, last year inaugurated an interfaith center in the capital, Abu Dhabi, housing a mosque, a church and a synagogue.
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