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On 21 November 2024, Zvi Kogan (Hebrew: צבי קוגן, born 11 August 1996), an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi residing in the United Arab Emirates, was abducted and killed. He was an envoy of the Orthodox JewishHasidic organization Chabad. On 24 November 2024, a body was found and confirmed to be that of Kogan.[2] Three suspects were arrested.
Kogan and his wife, Rivky (née Spielman), a U.S. citizen, were married in 2022. She then joined him in Abu Dhabi.[10] She is the niece of Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered with his wife by an Islamist militant group in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in India.[11][12]
Before his abduction, Kogan was last seen at the kosher supermarket he managed in Dubai. He then failed to attend a dental appointment and his wife lost contact with him, leading her to alert a Chabad security chief, who in turn notified local authorities.[5][19] Kogan had been missing since the afternoon of 21 November 2024. However, Kogan's family said that he last contacted them the day prior.[23]
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced Kogan's disappearance on 23 November 2024 in a statement on behalf of the Mossad, and said that Israeli security and intelligence services were investigating the incident.[24][25] It sparked a joint investigation from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and Emirati authorities.[26] An Israeli delegation arrived in the UAE to aid the investigation.[27] Mossad led the investigation into his disappearance, treating it as a terrorist incident.[28]
Kogan's car and phone were found abandoned in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Dubai and on the border of Oman.[29][30][31] Sources close to the investigation indicate that the abductors were planning to drive him to Oman.[19] There was blood and there were signs of a violent struggle found in his car.[32][33]
Initial reports said that Kogan had been followed by three Uzbeks while he drove to the city after leaving Rimon, the supermarket that he managed.[27] Investigators later said that the assailants tracked Kogan's movements, and then kidnapped him and transported him to Al Ain in his own car, where he was killed.[33] The killers were suspected of then having fled to Turkey.[27] The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad accused Iran of being behind Kogan's death.[27] The Iranian embassy in the UAE denied any Iranian involvement in the killing, and said no evidence had been presented to support the accusation.[34]
His body was discovered on 24 November 2024. Kogan was 28.[10]
Arrests
On 24 November, the UAE Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of three Uzbekistan citizens suspected of kidnapping and murdering Kogan.[35] The three suspects, Olimboy Tohirovich (28), Makhmudjon Abdurakhim (28), and Azizbek Kamilovich (33), were arrested as they left an airport by taxi in Istanbul, Turkey, during a secret operation by Turkey's National Intelligence Organization and Istanbul police, who acted on a UAE government request.[36] The suspects were caught after landing on a flight to Istanbul.[37] They were then extradited to the Emirates at the request of the UAE.[14][38][39] The ministry announced the initiation of legal proceedings, with reports indicating that the three suspects could face the death penalty.[40]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he was "deeply shocked" by the killing and vowed that all means would be used to bring the killers, and "those who dispatched them", to justice.[46] Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the killing.[47] The killing occurred as Iran had threatened to retaliate to Israeli airstrikes on its territory on 26 October that took place during a period of heightened tensions between the two countries.[48]
The United States' Biden Administration condemned the crime, stating that it was "a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence" and that "those who carried out this crime, and anyone supporting them, must be held fully accountable."[51]
On 25 November 2024, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President-elect and 45th president of the United States Donald Trump, who had brokered the Abraham Accords which normalized relations between the UAE and Israel in 2020, and his wife, Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, announced a $1 million donation to the Chabad center in the UAE where Kogan had worked. Shortly afterward, Kushner's brother and sister-in-law, Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss, matched the contribution with an additional $1 million donation.[56][57]
The UAE ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, called Kogan's killing “a crime against the U.A.E.”[29] The Emirati government stated on 24 November that three perpetrators "involved in the murder” had been arrested.[58][59]
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condolences to Kogan's family. They also thanked Turkey for "their cooperation in arresting the perpetrators".[37] The UAE also praised the professionalism of the Emirati authorities, who managed the investigation.[38]
Uzbekistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs said Uzbekistan has been closely cooperating with UAE and Israeli authorities in the investigation.[38]
The Iranian Embassy in the UAE "categorically denied" accusations of Iranian involvement in Kogan's killing.[60]
Chabad is planning a $50 million campaign to establish a Jewish women's college in New York in memory of Kogan.[61]
A website was set up for people to pledge to do "Mitzvahs" or good deeds in memory of Kogan.[62] This is often done in the Orthodox Jewish tradition as a merit for the soul of the deceased. As of 5 December 2024, the global Jewish community had pledged over 40,000 such Mitzvahs in Kogan's memory.[63]
See also
Gavriel Holtzberg – Chabad rabbi and emissary killed in an Islamist terrorist attack in India
Jamshid Sharmahd – dual German-American citizen kidnapped by Iran while traveling through Dubai; authorities traced his cellphone to Al Ain then to Sohar in Oman before signals ceased.
