UAE Publishes Prison Photos of 3 Suspects in Murder of Rabbi

Stand for Israel  |  November 25, 2024

We are saddened to hear that Rabbi Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen who worked for Chabad in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was murdered in a hateful attack. News of the attack came over the weekend, and now the UAE has announced the names of the three suspects:

The United Arab Emirates on Monday published the names and photographs of three suspects it is holding in the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a UAE-based Chabad emissary whose body was found early Sunday.

Israel has called the murder an antisemitic terror attack. Chabad said Sunday that Kogan had been “murdered by terrorists.”

The Times of Israel goes on to tell us a little about Rabbi Zvi Kogan:

Kogan, 28, who worked in the UAE for the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, which seeks to support Jewish life for thousands of Jewish visitors and residents in the Gulf Arab state, vanished in Dubai, where he ran a kosher grocery store, on Thursday…

Kogan was a dual Israeli-Moldovan citizen who had reportedly served in the Israel Defense Forces’ Givati Brigade.

He had been part of the Abu Dhabi Chabad chapter since Israel normalized ties with the UAE in late 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

According to Chabad, Kogan worked to expand Jewish life in the UAE alongside Chief Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Duchman, including ensuring the wide availability of kosher food and opening the first Jewish education center in the country.

Our hearts and prayers go out to those who loved and were closest to Rabbi Kogan, including his wife who he leaves behind. We pray that there is an end to these hateful and unjust attacks. May Rabbi Kogan’s memory be a blessing.