Rabbi Zvi Kogan הרב צבי קוגן | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1996-08-11)11 August 1996 |
| Died | c. 21 November 2024(2024-11-21) (aged 28) Al Ain, United Arab Emirates |
| Buried | Mount of Olives,Jerusalem |
| Nationality | Israeli, Moldovan |
| Spouse | Rivky Spielman[1] |
| Parent(s) | Alexander and Etel |
| Alma mater | Chabad andLitvishyeshivas |
| Occupation | Assistant to the Chief Rabbi of the UAE |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Profession | Rabbi |
| Organisation | Chabad Jewish Community Center of UAE |
| Residence | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
On 21 November 2024,Zvi Kogan (Hebrew:צבי קוגן, born 11 August 1996), an Israeli-Moldovanrabbi residing in theUnited Arab Emirates, was abducted and killed. He was an envoy of theOrthodox JewishHasidic organizationChabad. On 24 November 2024, a body was found and confirmed to be that of Kogan.[2] Three suspects were arrested. In March 2025, three people were convicted and sentenced to death, with a fourth defendant sentenced to life imprisonment.
Kogan was born in 1996 inRamat Shlomo,Jerusalem, to Alexander and Etel Kogan.[3] He was raised in hisLitvak-Haredi family with his older brother, Reuven.[3][4][5]
As a teenager, Kogan learned at Yeshiva Maoz Chayil in Jerusalem, Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer inBnei Brak, and finally at theMir Yeshiva in Jerusalem.[6] Before he moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he served his mandatory service in theIsrael Defense Forces'84th "Givati" Infantry Brigade.[3][7][8] He was adual citizen of Israel and Moldova.[9]
Kogan and his wife, Rivky (née Spielman), a U.S. citizen, were married in 2022. She then joined him in Abu Dhabi.[10] She is the niece ofGavriel Noach Holtzberg, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered with his wife by anIslamist militant group in the2008 Mumbai terror attacks in India.[11][12]
Kogan was arabbi, and a representative of theOrthodox JewishHasidic organizationChabad'sAbu Dhabi chapter.[13][14] He had been so since the UAEnormalized diplomatic relations with Israel in theAbraham Accords in 2020.[15][16] He worked to explain Judaism and disprove myths andstereotypes about the religion.[17] He was an assistant to Chief Rabbi of the UAE,Levi Duchman, who was his brother-in-law.[18][19] He also managed akosher supermarket, Rimon, onAl Wasl Road inDubai, where he was a resident.[20][21][22] Chabad stated that he "worked to expand Jewish life in the UAE" with Duchman through ways that included ensuring the availability of kosher food and opening the country's first Jewish education center.[11]
In 2021, Kogan led aYizkor memorial prayer during the UAE's firstHolocaust remembrance day memorial.[18]
Before his abduction, Kogan was last seen at the kosher supermarket he managed in Dubai. He then failed to attend a dental appointment and his wife lost contact with him, leading her to alert a Chabad security chief, who in turn notified local authorities.[5][19] Kogan had been missing since the afternoon of 21 November 2024. However, Kogan's family said that he last contacted them the day prior.[23]
TheIsraeli Prime Minister's Office announced Kogan's disappearance on 23 November 2024 in a statement on behalf of theMossad, and said that Israeli security and intelligence services were investigating the incident.[24][25] It sparked a joint investigation from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and Emirati authorities.[26] An Israeli delegation arrived in the UAE to aid the investigation.[27] Mossad led the investigation into his disappearance, treating it as aterrorist incident.[28]
Kogan's car and phone were found abandoned inAl Ain,Abu Dhabi, 150 kilometres (93 mi) from Dubai and on the border ofOman.[29][30][31] Sources close to the investigation indicate that the abductors were planning to drive him to Oman.[19] There was blood and there were signs of a violent struggle found in his car.[32][33]
Initial reports said that Kogan had been followed by three Uzbeks while he drove to the city after leaving Rimon, the supermarket that he managed.[27] Investigators later said that the assailants tracked Kogan's movements, and then kidnapped him and transported him to Al Ain in his own car, where he was killed.[33] The killers were suspected of then having fled to Turkey.[27] The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad accused Iran of being behind Kogan's death.[27] The Iranian embassy in the UAE denied any Iranian involvement in the killing, and said no evidence had been presented to support the accusation.[34] The body of the 28-year-old Kogan was discovered on 24 November 2024.[10]
On 24 November, the UAE Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of three Uzbekistan citizens suspected of kidnapping and murdering Kogan.[35] The three suspects, Olimboy Tokhirovich Davlatyarov (28), Makhmudzhon Abdurakhim-oglu Kindzhaboev (28), and Azizbek Kamilovich Ismailov (33), were arrested as they left an airport by taxi inIstanbul, Turkey, during a secret operation by Turkey'sNational Intelligence Organization andIstanbul police, who acted on a UAE government request.[36][37] The suspects were caught after landing on a flight to Istanbul.[38] They were then extradited to the Emirates at the request of the UAE.[14][39][40] The ministry announced the initiation of legal proceedings, with reports indicating that the three suspects could face the death penalty.[41] In March 2025, three men were sentenced to death, and a fourth person was sentenced to life imprisonment by theAbu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals’ State Security Chamber. The state-runEmirates News Agency announced defendants had confessed and provided no further details about motive or the kidnapping and murder.[42][43][44]
On 25 November, Kogan's body was transferred to Israel. His burial ceremonies began in the evening of 25 November, at770 in the Chabad-Lubavitch town ofKfar Chabad in central Israel, and proceeded to theMount of Olives inJerusalem, where he was buried.[a] Kogan was eulogized by many rabbis and leaders including theAshkenaziChief Rabbi of IsraelKalman Meir Ber, theSephardic Chief Rabbi of IsraelDavid Yosef, RabbiLevi Duchman, who had worked alongside Kogan in the UAE, and Kogan's father, Rabbi Alexander Kogan.[48][49]
Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu stated that he was "deeply shocked" by the killing and vowed that all means would be used to bring the killers, and "those who dispatched them", to justice.[50] Israeli PresidentIsaac Herzog also condemned the killing.[51] The killing occurred as Iran had threatened to retaliate toIsraeli airstrikes on its territory on 26 October that took place during aperiod of heightened tensions between the two countries.[52]
Moldova called it an "act ofantisemitism".[53]Moldovan presidentMaia Sandu wrote onX that "we mourn the tragic loss" of Kogan and "strongly condemn this hateful act".[54][40]
The United States'Biden Administration condemned the crime, stating that it was "a horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance, and coexistence" and that "those who carried out this crime, and anyone supporting them, must be held fully accountable."[55]
U.S. Secretary of StateAntony Blinken, in a call with the Emirati Foreign MinisterAbdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, denounced the kidnapping and killing of Kogan.Matthew Miller, theU.S. State Department spokesman stated that Blinken “commended the swift actions taken by the UAE’s law enforcement authorities in response to the murder.”[56]
Other United States political leaders who publicly reacted to the killing include,U.S. Members of Congress,Steny Hoyer[57] andRitchie Torres;[58]New York State GovernorKathy Hochul;[57] andEric Adams, theMayor of New York City.[57] Adams later met withLevi Duchman, who worked alongside Kogan, to express his condolences.[59]
On 25 November 2024,Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President-elect and 45th president of the United StatesDonald Trump, who had brokered theAbraham Accords which normalized relations between the UAE and Israel in 2020, and his wife, Trump's daughterIvanka Trump, announced a $1 million donation to the Chabad center in the UAE where Kogan had worked. Shortly afterward, Kushner's brother and sister-in-law,Joshua Kushner andKarlie Kloss, matched the contribution with an additional $1 million donation.[60][61]
The UAE ambassador to the United States,Yousef Al Otaiba, called Kogan's killing “a crime against the U.A.E.”[29] The Emirati government stated on 24 November that three perpetrators "involved in the murder” had been arrested.[62][63]
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its condolences to Kogan's family. They also thanked Turkey for "their cooperation in arresting the perpetrators".[38] The UAE also praised the professionalism of the Emirati authorities, who managed the investigation.[39]
Uzbekistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs said Uzbekistan has been closely cooperating with UAE and Israeli authorities in the investigation.[39]
The Iranian Embassy in the UAE "categorically denied" accusations of Iranian involvement in Kogan's killing.[64]
Chabad is planning a $50 million campaign to establish a Jewish women's college in New York in memory of Kogan.[65]
A website was set up for people to pledge to do "Mitzvahs" or good deeds in memory of Kogan.[66] This is often done in theOrthodox Jewish tradition as a merit for the soul of the deceased. As of 5 December 2024, the global Jewish community had pledged over 40,000 such Mitzvahs in Kogan's memory.[67]
The Iranian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates says it "categorically rejects the allegations of Iran's involvement in the murder of this individual".
