United Arab Emirates announces arrests of three people linked to rabbi killed in murder of ‘anti-Semitic terrorist’ – NBC New York

UAE authorities arrested three people in connection with the murder Israeli Moldovan rabbi who was found dead in the country.

The The Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates announced in October on Sunday, authorities “arrested in record time three perpetrators involved in the murder of Zvi Kogan, a Moldovan citizen, according to his identity documents issued upon entry to the United Arab Emirates, where he lived.”

The ministry said a specialized team quickly found Kogan’s body after he was reported missing. They then identified and arrested the suspects and initiated legal proceedings.

“Full details of the incident will be released once the investigation is completed,” X’s ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli government called the death of Kogan, who has been missing in the Gulf state since Thursday, a “criminal terrorist event of an anti-Semitic nature.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement on Sunday, he said his country “will deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law.”

Kogan’s disappearance quickly raised suspicions that he had been kidnapped. He was the representative in Abu Dhabi of Chabad Lubavitch, an influential Orthodox Jewish Hasidic organization based in New York.

“It is with great pain that we report the news that Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, was murdered by terrorists after being kidnapped on Thursday,” Chabad wrote in X.

Israel’s National Security Office said on Sunday that Israeli citizens should avoid unnecessary travel to the United Arab Emirates and urged people in the country to avoid displaying Israeli symbols and avoiding visiting areas “identified with the Israeli and Jewish population.”

“There are concerns that there remains a threat to Israelis and Jews in the area,” the advisory document said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Sunday that the “heinous anti-Semitic attack” would not stop Israelis “from continuing to develop thriving communities in the United Arab Emirates or anywhere else.”

Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, told X on Sunday that the country would remain “a safe home, a stable oasis, a cooperative and forgiving community,” without directly referring to Kogan’s death.

AP Photo/Jon Gambrell

On Saturday, Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency was investigating the disappearance after receiving information pointing to a “terrorist incident.”

This was announced by the Emirates Ministry of Interior on Saturday “received a report from the family of a Moldovan citizen named Zvi Kogan, stating that he has been missing since last Thursday and there is no contact with him.”

“Upon receiving the report, specialized authorities immediately launched a search and investigation,” the ministry said.

At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu praised the United Arab Emirates’ cooperation in the murder investigation.

NBC News has contacted the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.

Kogan’s disappearance comes at a turbulent time for the region, following Iran and Israel traded fire in October and while Israel continues its military campaigns in both Gaza and Lebanon.

The United Arab Emirates diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020, and while the agreement remained in place throughout the war between Israel and Hamas and the Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, both conflicts sparked anger among some Emiratis, Arab citizens and others living in the United Arab Emirates.

While there is currently no confirmation or suggestion of Iranian involvement, Iranian intelligence services have been accused of carrying out kidnappings in the United Arab Emirates in the past.

Jamshid Sharmahd, Iranian German programmer living in California kidnapped in 2020 during a stopover in the United Arab Emirates and transported to Iran. An Iranian court said he was executed in October.

Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli mission in Abu Dhabi was in contact with Kogan’s family.

The Associated Press and Victoria Di Gioacchino contributed.

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