It is with great sorrow that we inform you of the tragic murder of Rabbi Zvi HaKohen Kogan. His body was discovered this morning in Dubai after he was kidnapped and killed last Thursday afternoon. The attack occurred as he was leaving his kosher grocery store, Rimon, and was carried out by a terrorist squad of Uzbek origin operating in Dubai on behalf of Iran. The perpetrators subsequently fled to Turkey.
By Anash.org Reporter
Rabbi Zvi Kogan grew up in Yerushalayim, Eretz Yisroel, to a Litvishe Charedi family. As a teenager, Rabbi Kogan studied at Yeshiva Maoz Chayil. He later attended Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer in Bnei Brak and also studied at Yeshivas Mir. He married in Adar 5782 (March 2022) to Rivky Spielman of Crown Heights, a niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, the Chabad Shliach murdered in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
He was 28 years old.
Rabbi Kogan managed the kosher supermarket Rimon in Dubai and together with his older brother, Rabbi Reuven Kogan, was involved with Chabad in the UAE, managing logistical and administrative operations for Jewish communities alongside the Chief rabbi, to the UAE, Rabbi Levi Duchman.
After extensive coordinated efforts by multiple international security agencies, Emirati authorities recovered Rabbi Kogan’s body early Sunday morning and notified his family.
On Thursday afternoon, Rabbi Kogan failed to show up for scheduled meetings he had during the day. After he failed to make contact, his wife contacted the security officer of the Chabad house, who alerted the local authorities. Information about the incident was also shared with the Israeli authorities. On Friday night, Israeli police officials went to his parent in Ramat Shalom to inform them of the news.
Rabbi Kogan was last seen at his grocery store Rimon. After he left the store, reports are that he drove off his car was found abandoned in Al Ain, 150 km from Abu Dhabi by Al Ain, approximately an hour and a half from Dubai. His car was later found abandoned, and his phone was turned off.
Preliminary investigations revealed that three individuals from Uzbekistan followed him after he left the market, where they kidnapped him and then murdered him.
The United Arab Emirates government put out the following statement “it had received a report from the family of a Moldovan national named “Zvi Kogan,” stating that he has been missing and out of contact since last Thursday.”
According to AP, Israeli media described the rabbi as a veteran of the Israeli military’s 84th Givati Brigade. He posted on Instagram earlier this week a video of himself in his store Rimon in Abu Dabi, and together with posting images of himself in the IDF, this may have attracted undue attention from the Iranian intelligence agencies.
Israel’s Channel 11 reported that the rabbi had been kidnapped by a cell directed by Iran, which apparently managed to escape to Turkey. The Ynet report also confirmed that the perpetrators are believed to have fled to Turkey.
Senior Israeli officials told Walla News that the focus of investigations was “a terrorist squad of Uzbek origin that operated in Dubai on behalf of Iran and allegedly carried out the abduction and then fled to Turkey.”
The Mossad and the Israeli National Security Council say Israel’s intelligence indicated “he may have been under surveillance by terrorist elements,” the Walla report added.
While Israel has not yet accused Iran of involvement in the abduction, Western officials believe Tehran runs intelligence operations in the UAE and keeps tabs on the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country, according to the Associated Press.
Kogan’s abduction comes as Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel over the October 26 air strikes, which according to Israeli and US officials, knocked out Iran’s last three Russian-provided S-300 air defense missile systems and left the country vulnerable to attacks.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that “the murder of Zvi Kogan is a criminal anti-Semitic terrorist attack. The State of Israel will use all means and bring to justice the criminals responsible for his death.”
Chabad.org said in a statement: “With great pain, we share that Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to Abu Dhabi, UAE, was murdered by terrorists after being abducted on Thursday.” They concluded with call to action from the global Jewish community “Please do a mitzvah in the merit and memory of Rabbi Zvi ben Alexander Hakohen, hy”d”
The times for his Levayah will be announced.
HaShem Yikom Damo
Baruch Dayin Haemes
My heart is with my Jewish community,
I want to hear more about who Rabbi tzvi HaKohen Kogan was.I am not fully aware of the Chabad way of honoring someone who passed, what’s appropriate to discuss, what’s not.
Although I am orthodox I am deeply connected to the community, with friends who share with me and include me in the light.
What we’re Rabbi tzvi HaKohen Kogans passions, what did he talk about, what were his strengths as midos,
It’s remarkable that he took part in making kosher accessible, and brought more light into the darkest corners of the world,
What do his close friends want to say about him?
Did he have a writings, or speeches?
There’s many articles on what happened which is incredible bc it needs to be announced, but I want this to be more personal. This happened to Rabbi tzvi haKohen Kogan, yes there are many wonderful Chabad rabbis, which I am so thankful for, but this happened to rabbi tzvi HaKohen Kogan. I want to know him personally. I want to take part in spreading his flame to where he never had a chance to.
Land Price Tag –
There should be an immediate authorization and naming of a new settlement in “disputed lands” in Israel to discourage future terrorists attacks. Terrorists don’t care as much about money, death, or even the death of their own family members. Terrorists do care about losing land. Terrorists must realize that terrorist actions for their collective group will result in collective retribution for every Jewish civilian murdered.