Israel slams 'anti-Semitic' murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his country would use “all means” to punish those responsible for the “anti-Semitic” murder of a Moldovan-Israeli rabbi in the United Arab Emirates.

The body of Tzvi Kogan, who has been missing since Thursday in the Emirates where he was based, was found lifeless by the Emirati authorities, the Israeli government said in the morning, sparking indignation in Israel.

This murder “is a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism,” the government said in a statement, specifying that “the State of Israel will use all means at its disposal to ensure that justice is done and that those responsible for his death answer for their actions.”

No details were provided on the place where the body was found, nor on the circumstances of the murder or the identity of the suspects.

“The State of Israel will use all means and deal with the murderers of Tzvi Kogan and those who sent them, with all the firmness of the law,” Netanyahu responded.

In a video released by his services, on the occasion of a cabinet meeting, he described the murder as a “despicable anti-Semitic terrorist attack.”

The Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, had opened an investigation, Netanyahu's office had indicated on Saturday, announcing the disappearance of the rabbi and already mentioning the “terrorist” lead, without providing any details to support this lead.

The United Arab Emirates is one of the Arab countries that normalized their relations with Israel within the framework of the Abraham Accords of 2020, promoted by Donald Trump during his first term in the White House.

Israeli authorities have reiterated their warning to Israelis to avoid all non-essential travel to the Gulf country and advised citizens already there to take extra precautions.

“This despicable anti-Semitic attack reminds us of the inhumanity of the enemies of the Jewish people,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog commented on the social network X.

“It will not prevent us from continuing to develop thriving communities in the United Arab Emirates or elsewhere,” he assured.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz denounced, also on X, “a cowardly and despicable anti-Semitic terrorist crime.”

– The discreet Emirates –

Married for six months according to Israeli media, Rabbi Tzvi Kogan was an emissary of Chabad Lubavitch, an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic movement with a global missionary commitment to strengthening Jewish identity and bringing Jews closer to their faith.

In a message on X where it expresses its “great pain” above a photo of the rabbi, Chabad Lubavitch claims that he was “assassinated by terrorists after being kidnapped on Thursday”.

For their part, the Emirati authorities have observed extreme discretion on this murder which they have not commented on.

On Saturday, they had indicated that they had “immediately launched search operations” to find Tzvi Kogan, whom they then presented as Moldovan, without mentioning his nationality. Israeli.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry said it was in contact with Emirati authorities “to clarify the circumstances of this case,” citing the disappearance, but not the death, of Tzvi Kogan.

A federation of seven emirates tightly controlled by the ruling family, the Emirates pride themselves on being a tolerant and safe country.

The wealthy oil state, whose overwhelmingly expatriate population, opened an interfaith center in the capital, Abu Dhabi, last year, housing a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

In Amman, Jordanian authorities also announced Sunday that a man had been shot dead at dawn after opening fire on security forces in the neighborhood housing the Israeli embassy.

All reproduction and representation rights reserved. © (2024) Agence France-Presse