Rabbi missing in UAE feared kidnapped by Islamic terrorists
Israel is investigating the disappearance of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi as a suspected act of terrorism as security officials fear he was kidnapped or murdered by an Iran-linked terror cell in the United Arab Emirates as tensions remain high between the two countries.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Saturday that Chabad emissary Rabbi Zvi Kogan stopped communicating with his family on Wednesday and has since been missing, with Israel’s Mossad and UAE intelligence agencies now investigating the matter, according to Israeli media.
Security officials suspect Kogan, who lives and works in Abu Dhabi, was followed by Islamic terrorists who escaped to Turkey, believing he went missing from a location about an hour and half from Dubai.
“Since his disappearance, and in the wake of information of terrorist involvement, an intensive investigation has been launched in the country,” the prime minister’s office said.
“Israeli intelligence and security agencies are working continuously out of concern for the well-being and safety of Zvi Kogan.”
Kogan’s disappearance comes amid Iranian threats to retaliate against Israel for an airstrike in October that destroyed sensitive military bases in the country.
Tehran has launched two missile attacks on Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon.
The National Security Council had previously issued a Level 3 travel warning for the United Arab Emirates, advising against non-essential travel to the destination and recommending heightened precautionary measures for those staying there, according to the prime minister’s office.
Kogan, an emissary for the Abu Dhabi Chabad branch, one of the largest religious Jewish organizations in the world, failed to arrive at his scheduled meetings on Wednesday, Hebrew outlet Ynet reported.
Chabad security officers then reported his disappearance when Kogan’s wife reported that all communication with her husband had stopped.
“We know he was followed in the kosher supermarket that he managed in Abu Dhabi,” security officials told Ynet.
“His traces disappeared this week. We understand that those responsible [for his disappearance] have escaped to Turkey. His body has not been found.”
Kogan was described by an Israeli acquaintance as a nice man who was very active in his community, Ynet reported.
“His family is ruined and the Israeli and Jewish community is appalled,” the friend said.
“Kogan was the assistant of Chabad’s chief rabbi in the Emirates and formed and managed the kosher supermarket of the community.”
Iranian intelligence services have reportedly carried out past kidnappings in the UAE.