The body of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, emissary of the Chabad movement in Abu Dhabi, was found Sunday morning in the United Arab Emirates. In a joint statement, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and Foreign Ministry confirmed the discovery by Emirati intelligence services, calling the assassination “a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism.” Kogan, a former Givati brigade fighter, was last seen Thursday in Dubai, where he managed the “Rimon” kosher grocery store. According to the Mossad, which opened an “intensive” investigation, a group of three Uzbeks followed him as he left the store before kidnapping him. The suspects then reportedly fled to Turkey.
“The State of Israel will use all means at its disposal and bring to justice the criminals responsible for his death,” the Israeli government said. Security services suspect Iran of having orchestrated the operation using Shiite Uzbek agents, a common practice allowing Tehran to maintain a “possibility of denial”.
The first elements of the investigation reveal that Kogan's car was found abandoned in the city of Al-Ain, an hour and a half drive from Dubai. The alert was raised after he failed to show up for his appointments Thursday, prompting his wife to contact the head of security at the Chabad house.
“He was a nice boy, very active in the community,” says an Israeli living in Abu Dhabi. “His family is devastated and the Israelite community is in shock. He was the assistant to the chief rabbi of the Emirates and established the community's kosher supermarket.”
Married for six months, Kogan was the nephew by marriage of Rabbi Gabi Holtzberg, a Chabad emissary assassinated in Mumbai in 2008. An Israeli delegation traveled to the Emirates to participate in the investigation, while Israeli security services are collaborating with their Turkish counterparts to find the suspects.
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