Israelis warned to avoid UAE after killing of Moldovan-Israeli rabbi

A young rabbi residing in the United Arab Emirates was confirmed dead on Sunday in what appears to be a targeted killing. If confirmed as a political assassination, it could signal a broader threat of attacks against Israelis abroad.

A statement by the Israeli foreign ministry and Prime Minster’s office, said: “The UAE intelligence and security authorities have located the body of Zvi Kogan, who has been missing since Thursday, November 21.

"The Israeli mission in Abu Dhabi has been in contact with the family from the start of the event and is continuing to assist it at this difficult time; his family in Israel has also been updated.“

The statement called the incident "an abhorrent act of antisemitic terrorism".

"The State of Israel will use all means and will deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law," the statement added.

Kogan, a young rabbi who once served in Israel's Givati Brigade, an elite unit of the army, worked in Dubai at the kosher supermarket which has since been closed temporarily. It was one part of the growing Jewish life which has been a byproduct of the 2020 US-brokered Abraham Accords facilitating diplomatic ties between Israel and countries including the UAE.

The community, which is now hundreds strong including Israelis and Jews from around the diaspora, is in shock after the event which comes amid already heightened security in the wake of the Gaza war.

Israel had listed the UAE as a level three, or medium threat, reiterating the warnings in the wake of the killing, advising it is a destination for essential travel only.

“This also serves as a reminder that for a while, per the recommendations of the National Security Council (NSC), there has been a level 3 – moderate travel warning issued for the UAE, with a recommendation to avoid any non-essential travel to the country, and for those who are in the country – take extra precautions,” a statement said Sunday from Israel’s Prime Minister’s office.

While there has so far been no official mention of Iran, Israeli media reported it is a suspected Iran-backed attack, similar to those of 2020 and 2014.

German-Iranian Jamshid Sharmahd was abducted by Iranian agents from his hotel in Dubai while on a layover in 2020. He was later transferred to Iran and sentenced to death. On November 5, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary said Sharmahd died in custody on October 28 before he could be executed.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Israeli and Emirati security agencies suspect the young rabbi was murdered by three Uzbek citizens. who kidnapped and murdered him, and then fled the country.

In announcements regarding the search for the missing resident, the UAE did not announce that Kogan was Israeli, only mentioning his Moldovan nationality.

Planned attacks on Israelis and Jews around the world have been stepping up over the last year amid the war, with multiple plots inside and outside Israel foiled, including against high level targets such as the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Since 2020, Reuters reported that there have been at least 33 assassination or abduction attempts in the West in which local or Israeli authorities allege an Iran link, according to court documents and public statements by government officials.

Among recent alleged targets was a Chabad center in Athens, the same organization Kogen was affiliated with as a rabbi, which has hundreds of centers around the world.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Sunday: "I mourn with sorrow and outrage the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan. This vile antisemitic attack is a reminder of the inhumanity of the enemies of the Jewish people.”

It comes amid the ongoing war in Gaza in which Iran’s allies around the region have joined Iran-backed Hamas and fired on Israel from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Iran has also launched two attacks on Israel. The latest retaliation by Israel took out swathes of Iran’s air defenses.