Body of Slain Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan Found in UAE; Israel Condemns Antisemitic Act of Terror

Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old Israeli-Moldovan rabbi and emissary of the Orthodox Jewish organization Chabad in the United Arab Emirates, was found dead on November 24, 2024. His body was discovered after he was reported missing by his wife, Rivky, on November 21, 2024, when he failed to attend several scheduled meetings.

Kogan served as the Assistant to the Chief Rabbi of the UAE, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Duchman, and also managed a kosher supermarket, Rimon, in Dubai. Before his role in the UAE, he had served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Kogan and his wife, a US citizen, were married in 2022, and she joined him in Abu Dhabi thereafter.

The investigation into his disappearance involved both the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and UAE authorities. Kogan’s vehicle was found in a city about an hour and a half from Dubai, leading to the discovery of his body on November 24, 2024. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for his abduction and murder, with authorities suspecting that he was abducted by three Uzbek nationals who then fled to Turkey.

The incident has been condemned by Israel as an antisemitic act of terror. Rabbi Kogan’s wife, Rivky, is the niece of Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, who was murdered in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.