Missing Israeli Rabbi found murdered in UAE, Netanyahu vows revenge on killers

An Israeli man who went missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found murdered, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday, denouncing his death as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act.”Zvi Kogan, a rabbi who worked in the Gulf Arab country for an Orthodox Jewish group called Chabad, vanished in Dubai on Thursday.“The state of Israel will use all means at its disposal to bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice,” the prime minister’s statement said.The UAE foreign ministry did not immediately comment on news that the body of Kogan, who also held Moldovan citizenship, had been discovered. Chabad’s office in the UAE declined to comment.Chabad seeks to build links with non-affiliated and secular Jews or other sects of Judaism.The group’s branch in the UAE supports thousands of Jewish visitors and residents, according to its website.Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimize movement, remain in secure areas and avoid visiting businesses, gathering places and entertainment venues associated with Israel and Jewish populations.The UAE’s Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020 when the country became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement, dubbed the Abraham Accords.The UAE has maintained the relationship during the 13-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.However, the public presence of Israelis and Jews in the UAE has appeared to recede since the devastating Hamas cross-border attack on Israeli communities of Oct.

7, 2023 that triggered the Gaza conflict, which has sparked protests worldwide.Jewish community members told Reuters that informal synagogues in Dubai were closed after the Oct.7 assault due to security concerns, with Jews instead gathering in small groups at each others’ houses ...