Israel said an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi was murdered in the United Arab Emirates in what it described as an act of anti-Semitic “terrorism”, and vowed to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, AFP reports.
“The intelligence and security authorities in the United Arab Emirates have located the body of Tzvi Kogan, who had been missing since Thursday, November 21,” the prime minister’s office and the foreign ministry said in a joint statement.
“The murder of Tzvi Kogan, of blessed memory, is a heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism,” it said, adding that Israel would do everything in its power “to ensure that justice is served and that those responsible for his death are held accountable.” Kogan was an emissary for the ultra-Orthodox Chabad Hasidic movement in the UAE.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had on Saturday said Israel was investigating Kogan’s disappearance in the UAE as a “terrorist incident”.
It renewed a warning for Israelis to avoid any non-essential travel to the UAE, and advised citizens already in the Gulf country to take extra precautions.