UAE arrests three suspects in murder of Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan

DUBAI (Reuters): Three people have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates in connection with the alleged murder of an Israeli citizen, the Emirati interior ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry statement did not give details on the suspects or say if they had been charged, but said all legal powers would be used “to respond decisively and without leniency to any actions or attempts that threaten societal stability”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had denounced the killing of the rabbi, Zvi Kogan, 28, as a “heinous antisemitic terrorist act” and said Israel would do everything it could to bring those responsible to justice.

Kogan was a resident of the UAE and also a Moldovan national, according to local authorities. He worked with the New York-based Orthodox Jewish Chabad movement and was first reported missing on Thursday. His body was discovered on Sunday.

The Israeli foreign ministry said all Israeli agencies were involved in the investigation and that it was believed Kogan had last been seen at a Kosher supermarket in Dubai.

Kogan’s body was found in the Emirati city of Al Ain, which borders Oman, though it was not clear if he was killed there or elsewhere, former Israeli politician Ayoob Kara told Reuters in Dubai.

Kara, a member of Israel’s ruling right-wing Likud party who promotes economic relations between Israel and the Arab world, said there were indications that investigators suspected Iranian involvement.

The Iranian embassy in the UAE said it “categorically rejects the allegations of Iran’s involvement in the murder of this individual”.

Israel reissued a recommendation to citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the UAE. It said those now there should minimise movement, remain in secure areas, and avoid visiting places associated with Israel and Jewish populations.

The White House said it was closely coordinating with Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE and our prayers are with his family,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said.

The UAE’s Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020, when the UAE 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 months of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. However, Israelis and Jews have been less evident in public since Oct 7, 2023, which triggered the recent crisis and sparked protests worldwide.

Kara said the UAE’s Jewish community was in “shock” at Kogan’s murder, but that Israelis and Jews would still visit, build ties and invest in the Gulf country.

“No way to stop this relationship and this cooperation,” said Kara, who is not Jewish but a member of Israel’s Druze minority.

Members of the Jewish community said informal synagogues in Dubai were closed after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel over security concerns, with Jews instead gathering to pray at home.

There are no official synagogues in Dubai, the UAE’s biggest city and commercial hub, but the UAE’s one government-approved synagogue, in Abu Dhabi, remains open. There are no official statistics on the number of Jews or Israelis living in the UAE. Jewish groups estimate there are several thousand.