By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International CorrespondentWorthy News
JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s government said Sunday that an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who disappeared in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was killed in a “heinous antisemitic terror act” and indirectly blamed Iran for his murder.
Zvi Kogan was found dead Sunday in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman, around 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Abu Dhabi, said former Israeli Druze politician Ayoob Kara and other sources.
His car was discovered in Al Ain, about an hour and a half from his home, and there were signs of a struggle in the vehicle, Israeli media reported.
Israeli officials suspect that several Uzbek citizens recruited by Iran attacked the rabbi and later fled to Turkey. Kogan had been under Iranian intelligence surveillance, Worthy News learned.
The 28-year-old Kogan, who also holds Moldovan citizenship, was a representative of Chabad, a religious movement of Hasidic Jews with communities, synagogues, and other institutions in many countries.
The organization explained that he was among Chabad emissaries who ” expanded Jewish life in the Emirates. ”
Kogan had been missing since Thursday afternoon when he was apparently abducted in Dubai, where he ran a kosher market, Chabad and others said.
SEEKING JUSTICE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the killing and warned that “The State of Israel will use all means at its disposal to bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice.“
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also expressed outrage over the rabbi’s death and thanked Emirati authorities for “their swift action.”
UAE officials said the nation was in shock over the rabbi’s death.
Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, Ephraim Mirvis, called the assassination a “devastating blow for peace.”
If confirmed, the killing was due to put additional pressure on Tehran, which has been linked to several high-profile killings, including of Jews.
Iran is suspected of kidnapping and later killing Abbas Yazdi, a British-Iranian national, in Dubai in 2013, although Tehran has denied involvement.
The Islamic Republic also abducted Jamshid Sharmahd, an Iranian-German national, from Dubai in 2020, taking him back to Tehran, where he was executed last month, Israeli sources said.
There were at least 33 assassinations or abduction attempts in the West in which local or Israeli authorities alleged an Iran link since 2020, according to court documents and government statements.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israeli officials are preparing to brief President Donald Trump on new military options against Iran when he meets later this month with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid growing concern that Tehran is rapidly rebuilding its ballistic missile program and restoring damaged air defenses, according to an NBC News exclusive citing a person with direct knowledge of the plans and multiple former U.S. officials.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus have agreed to accelerate a long-discussed regional energy and security partnership, pledging deeper cooperation amid rising instability in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.
The United States has seized another crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking the second such operation in less than two weeks as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his government.
Ukraine’s military says it is attempting to halt a Russian incursion into a border village in the northeastern Sumy region, even as diplomatic efforts continue to seek an end to the nearly four-year war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for “peaceful coexistence” as his nation marked the first anniversary of a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that revived a debate about the influx of migrants from mainly Muslim countries.
With Christmas approaching, a Christian worker and his family have fled a brick kiln in Pakistan where they were effectively held in modern-day slavery by their Muslim employer, amid continuing concerns over the safety of Christian girls in the mainly Islamic nation, investigators told Worthy News.
Jerusalem will host a high-level trilateral summit on Monday as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus move to deepen security, energy, and strategic cooperation amid growing concern over Turkey’s expanding military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.