An Israeli citizen missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found dead, Israeli authorities said on Sunday, in what they described as an “antisemitic terrorist act.”
Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen and representative of Chabad, a religious movement of Hasidic Jews with communities, synagogues and other institutions in many countries, had been missing since Thursday afternoon.
In a joint statement Sunday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Kogan’s body had been located by UAE authorities.
“The murder of Tzvi Kogan, of blessed memory, is a heinous antisemitic terrorist act. The State of Israel will use all means at its disposal to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” the statement said.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, condemned the killing as a “cowardly and despicable act of anti-semitic terror.”
Earlier, the PMO said that Israel’s National Security Agency had previously recommended Israeli citizens avoid unnecessary travel to the UAE.
The UAE interior ministry confirmed Saturday it “had received a report from the family of a Moldovan national named Zvi Kogan, stating that he has been missing and out of contact since last Thursday” and that an investigation was underway.
Kogan worked alongside other Chabad emissaries to establish and expand Judaism in the UAE. He founded the first Jewish education center in the region, as well as helped make kosher food widely available, according to the Chabad movement’s official website.
Kogan’s wife Rivky is a US national, whose uncle Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg was killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
This is a developing story. More to come.