Three suspects arrested in rabbi murder as Iran denies involvement

AL AIN: Three suspects have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates in connection with the alleged murder of Zvi Kogan, a rabbi and 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.

Emirati Ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba said Kogan’s murder was a crime against the UAE and “an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision.”

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“We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind,” he said in a statement released on X.

Emirati authorities have not said if they have established a motive but Israeli officials say that Kogan was targeted because he was Jewish, without providing further details.

An Israeli foreign ministry official 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”.

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Israel reissued a recommendation to citizens to avoid non-essential travel to the UAE and 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 working in close coordination 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.