Mysterious Killing of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in UAE

Israeli media reports emerged about the disappearance of a dual-national individual holding both Israeli and Moldovan citizenship, named Zvi Kogan (28), in the United Arab Emirates. He was last seen on the afternoon of Thursday, November 21, 2024. On November 24 of the same month, UAE authorities discovered his body, with reports suggesting he might have been killed by an armed group that had been monitoring him.

The news broke with a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirming Kogan’s disappearance in the UAE and suggesting the incident could be linked to a terrorist act. The statement explained that the rabbi, representing a Jewish religious movement called Chabad, vanished under mysterious circumstances while performing his religious duties as part of the movement’s mission in the UAE.

Netanyahu’s office reported that UAE authorities had launched a comprehensive investigation into the incident, while Israeli security and intelligence agencies intensified efforts to determine the circumstances surrounding the crime. According to initial information disclosed by Netanyahu’s office, indications suggest that the rabbi’s disappearance might be linked to a terrorist act. The statement also emphasized that Chabad, the religious movement Kogan belonged to, is one of the world’s leading Jewish religious organizations with branches in various countries.

On another front, Israeli reports indicated that preliminary investigations suggest possible Iranian involvement in the abduction of the Jewish rabbi. Estimates point to an Uzbek cell affiliated with Iran that allegedly carried out the kidnapping and killed Kogan before leaving the UAE. Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper stated that the General Security Service had launched an intensive investigation after finding evidence pointing to the possibility that Kogan had been kidnapped and murdered by an Uzbek group.

The newspaper also noted that Kogan, who managed the Jewish kosher grocery store “Rimon” in Dubai, was last seen on the afternoon of Thursday, November 21, 2024. His family reported losing contact with him the previous day, especially since his phone was turned off. This prompted his American wife to alert authorities about his absence from meetings he was scheduled to attend. The newspaper added that investigations revealed his abandoned car near the UAE city of Al Ain, close to the Oman border.

It is worth noting that Kogan was the nephew of Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg, who was killed along with his wife in a terrorist attack carried out by the Pakistani jihadist group Lashkar-e-Taiba on the Chabad center in Mumbai, India, in 2008.

According to Israeli investigations, three Uzbek operatives reportedly followed Kogan after he left the store, killed him, and fled to Turkey, where they were apprehended and extradited to the UAE.

Interestingly, Kogan was in Israel on Tuesday, November 19, meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in his office, accompanied by the incoming Israeli ambassador to the UAE for accreditation procedures.

Kogan had previously served as a soldier in the Givati Brigade of the Israeli army before leaving military life to become an assistant to the UAE’s Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community, Levi Duchman.

On the other hand, the UAE Ministry of Interior issued a statement urging reliance on official information and cautioning against spreading rumors aimed at causing concern and unrest in the community. The UAE news agency (WAM) reported the Ministry’s announcement that “UAE security forces swiftly apprehended the perpetrators involved in the murder of Zvi Kogan, a Moldovan national based on his official entry documents to the UAE.” The suspects were three individuals, and the statement affirmed the UAE’s ability to act firmly against anyone threatening the country’s security and stability.

The Ministry of Interior also stated on its X (formerly Twitter) account: “Following a report from the victim’s family about his disappearance, a search and investigation team was formed. The investigations led to the discovery of the missing person’s body and the identification of the perpetrators, who were arrested, and legal procedures were initiated. Details of the incident will be disclosed once the investigation concludes.”

The UAE, known for its high-security standards and extensive surveillance camera network, tracked Kogan’s movements. His car was seen leaving Abu Dhabi, exceeding the speed limit, and being detected by traffic radars. It was later found abandoned near the Omani border, showing signs of a struggle inside.

This incident evokes memories of Iran’s abduction of Iranian dissident Jamshid Sharmahd, a US resident holding German citizenship, from the UAE in 2020. He was reportedly smuggled through Oman to Tehran, where he was tried and convicted of bombing the Seyyed al-Shohada mosque in Shiraz, Iran. Israeli analysts speculate that Kogan’s initial abduction plan might have also aimed to transfer him to Iran.

The UAE Embassy in the United States published a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) account by the UAE Ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, expressing the country’s condolences over the tragic death of Rabbi Zvi Kogan. The statement emphasized that his killing was more than just a crime in the UAE; it was a crime against the UAE itself—an attack on its values and vision, which embrace everyone, foster peaceful coexistence, and reject extremism and intolerance of all forms. The memory of Zvi Kogan will remain alive through the UAE’s renewed commitment to these values and its determination to protect and preserve the country as a shining and lasting example of diversity, acceptance, and peace.

An official Emirati delegation, led by Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the UAE’s Federal National Council, travelled to Israel to offer condolences over Rabbi Kogan’s death. The delegation fully sympathised with the rabbi’s family and pledged to provide all necessary support. They also held meetings with Israeli officials to reaffirm the UAE’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for Israelis and Jews residing in the country.

As part of the UAE’s efforts to strengthen its relationship with the global Jewish community, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan donated $5 million as an initial instalment to support Chabad’s activities and institutions. He also pledged to fund the construction of a new Jewish centre in the UAE, Beit Zvi, in memory of the late Rabbi Kogan.

Dr. Abdel Wahab Elmessiri defines Kabbalah in Volume Five of The Encyclopedia of Jews, Judaism, and Zionism: A New Interpretive Model (1999) as “the Jewish mystical tradition.”

He explains that Hasidism is a term used “to refer to several religious sects in ancient and medieval times, but in the modern era, it denotes the mystical, pantheistic religious movement.”

According to Elmessiri, Hasidism is divided into several sects, including the Chabad movement, which is described as “an intellectual mystical trend based on studying both the Kabbalah and the Talmud.” He notes that “the Nazis decimated the primary Hasidic centres in Eastern Europe,” prompting their relocation “to the United States, with the migration of Yiddish-speaking Jews starting in the 1880s.” However, “their real activities did not begin until after World War II.” Today, “two main Hasidic centres exist: one in the United States and the other in Israel.”

Elmessiri adds that the Hasidim believe that “worshipping God must be done in all ways, serving Him with both body and soul, as long as He is an immanent God who transcends neither nature nor history, dwelling in everything—even in the taste of food, smoking tobacco, and engaging in sexual and commercial relationships.” One Hasidic leader asserted that “a person must desire all material things, including women, to reach spiritual ecstasy.” According to Hasidic thought, physical joy leads to spiritual joy.

Hasidism views material existence as inherently spiritual, considering the soul a form of matter. Worship and salvation through the body even extend to “worshiping God through sexual relationships.” This perspective exemplifies an extreme pantheistic vision, merging spiritual unity with material existence.

Elmessiri explains that pantheism “manifests in two forms that are essentially one: an intense love for Palestine or Eretz Yisrael, paired with a deep hatred for non-Jews. Thus, the Hasidim felt compelled to separate themselves from the defiled non-Jews and their impure lands, settling instead in the holy land, which they regarded as both the source and ultimate goal of sanctity.”

He further argues that “the Hasid must delve into the paradise of the self rather than seek an earthly paradise. While the traditional messianic vision is apocalyptic, involving sudden divine intervention in history, Hasidic messianism is gradual. It has transformed into a slow, ascending movement involving the entire community of Israel, led by numerous Tzaddiks, without expecting sudden changes (a concept that influenced Zionist thought).” In this context, “a Tzaddik is a person of exceptional holiness, second only to God.”

The coming days may reveal answers to a pressing question: Who benefited from Kogan’s murder? Was his killing motivated by anti-Semitic intentions, non-political criminal reasons, or other hidden agendas?

Given the UAE’s strategic location along the resource-rich Arabian Gulf, its exceptional global security ranking, and its strong normalization ties with Israel—home to the world-renowned intelligence agency Mossad—it seems unlikely that the crime could have occurred without a meticulously planned operation, possibly by a state with significant intelligence and covert capabilities.

In this conspiratorial context, it is worth recalling the ill-fated Egoz, a deteriorating ship rented by Mossad in 1960 to transport Moroccan Jews to Israel illegally. The ship completed 12 missions but sank on its 13th voyage in January 1961 near the Strait of Gibraltar. Forty-two people onboard drowned, and 22 bodies were recovered and buried in the Jewish cemetery in the Moroccan town of Al Hoceima. Later, at Israel’s request, their remains were transferred and reburied at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

The ship’s sinking led to secret Israeli negotiations with Morocco’s newly crowned King Hassan II, pressuring him to permit the legal and organized emigration of Moroccan Jews under the operation code-named Yakhin, a biblical term referring to one of the pillars supporting Solomon’s Temple.

Many speculate that the Egoz sinking was orchestrated by Mossad itself to compel Morocco to approve the mass, lawful migration of its Jewish community—a plan that ultimately succeeded.

At the time, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion kept the incident highly confidential to avoid disrupting the migration of Moroccan Jews. He was also concerned about the potential linkage of the ship’s sinking to the Lavon Affair, a failed secret Israeli operation in 1954 aimed at bombing Egyptian, American, and British targets in Egypt to disrupt negotiations for British troop withdrawal from the Suez Canal.

Does this conspiratorial model explain the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE—a strategy Israel has reportedly used several times in the past—or is Israel as innocent as the wolf from the blood of Joseph?