The Ministry of the Interior for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced three arrests on Monday in connection with the disappearance and death of Rabbi Zvi Kogan of Abu Dhabi.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Kogan’s murder as an “abhorrent act of antisemitic terrorism” and vowed to “deal with the criminals responsible for his death to the fullest extent of the law.”
The UAE said the three suspects in custody are three men from Uzbekistan: Olimpi Toirovich, 28; Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28; and Azizbek Kamlovich, 33.
The Interior Ministry released photos of the men lined up against a wall, wearing blue prisoner uniforms, blindfolds, and handcuffs. The ministry described them as “the perpetrators of the murder of the Moldovan citizen.” Kogan was a citizen of both Israel and Moldova.
Rabbi Kogan, 28, was reported missing on Thursday. His body was found on Sunday in the UAE city of Al Ain, near the border with Oman.
Al Ain is about 93 miles from Abu Dhabi, the city where Kogan has lived since 2020, and was last seen. Kogan was declared missing after his abandoned car was found an hour’s drive away from his home.
Kogan was a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who joined the Chabad Lubavitch religious foundation, and relocated to the UAE after it normalized diplomatic relations with Israel under President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords in 2020. His wife Rivky, a U.S. citizen, joined him in Abu Dhabi after they were married in 2022.
In a statement mourning Kogan’s death, Chabad credited him with “founding the first Jewish education center in the Gulf and making Kosher food widely available.” He was the manager of a kosher grocery store in Abu Dhabi called Rimon Market, in addition to his community service and religious outreach activities.
“We trust that the UAE will work with the countries in the region to bring the perpetrators to justice, and hold all those involved accountable for this act of sheer evil,” said Chabad Lubavitch chairman Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky.
Emirati officials have disclosed few details of Kogan’s death. There has been no public statement about the cause of death, where his body was found, or why Emirati police believe the three Uzbek suspects are responsible.
The Israeli government characterized Kogan’s death as an act of terrorism and antisemitism. Prime Minister Netanyahu told a meeting of his cabinet on Sunday he was “deeply shocked” by the killing.
“The murder of Zvi Kogan is a criminal antisemitic terrorist incident. The State of Israel will act in all of its abilities to bring to justice the criminals responsible for his death,” Netanyahu’s office said after Kogan’s body was found.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Kogan’s death was a “vile antisemitic attack” that would not prevent Israelis from “continuing to grow flourishing communities in the UAE, or anywhere.” Chabad said Kogan was “murdered by terrorists after being abducted on Thursday.”
The U.S. State Department on Sunday condemned Kogan’s murder “in the strongest terms,” calling it a “horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence.”
“It was an assault as well on UAE and its rejection of violent extremism across the board,” the State Department added. “Those who carried out this crime, and anyone supporting them, must be held fully accountable.”
The State Department’s remarks suggested a foreign agency directed Rabbi Kogan’s murder. Many observers suspect that foreign agency is Iran, which is looking for revenge after enduring punishing airstrikes from Israel in October.
