By COLlive reporter
Israel Prime Minister’s Office released the following statement on behalf of the Mossad and the National Security Council:
“Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen, a Chabad emissary in the UAE, has been missing since Thursday, November 21, 2024.
“Since his disappearance, and given information indicating that this is a terrorist incident, an active investigation has been going on in the country.
“Israeli security and intelligence organizations, concerned for Kogan’s safety and well-being, have been working tirelessly on this case.
“This also serves as a reminder that for a while, per the recommendations of the National Security Council, there has been a level 3 – moderate travel warning issued for the UAE, with a recommendation to avoid any non-essential travel there and for those who are in the country – take extra precautions.”
Rabbi Kogan, who was raised in Jerusalem, served in the Givati Brigade operational military unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He got married 3 years ago to Rivky Spielman of Crown Heights, a niece of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, the Chabad Shliach killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Security officials suspect that Rabbi Kogan, who resides in Abu Dhabi, was tracked by Islamic terrorists who later fled to Turkey. They believe he disappeared from a location approximately an hour and a half from Dubai, where he operates the Rimon kosher supermarket in the center of Dubai.
According to a report on the Ynet news website, Rabbi Kogan was in Jerusalem this past Tuesday, where he attended a meeting in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The meeting was with Yossi Shelley, the Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office, who has been approved as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
According to Ynet, both Shelley and Rabbi Kogan traveled to the Emirates the next day, Wednesday.
VIDEO: Hebrew report by i24News
Israel’s Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said: “Praying together with all the people of Israel and following with concern the Chabad emissary in the Emirates Rabbi Zvi Kogan who has been missing for several days and there is fear for his life.
“I am in continuous contact with community officials in Chabad and the government to do everything to locate him. With this invitation, he strengthens all the Chabad emissaries in the world who are under a campaign of anti-Semitism that crosses countries and continents.”
Arab-Israeli journalist and activist Joseph Haddad wrote: “I met Rabbi Zvi Kogan a few years ago at a historic event we held in Dubai – the first ceremony to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the soil of an Arab country, immediately after the Abrahamic Accords, when he was honored with his presence and said Kaddish there.
“The reports about the fear of being kidnapped are very worrying. In a country like the United Arab Emirates, where everything is networked with cameras, you can quickly find out all the details and I hope for good news and pray with the whole country for his safety.”
את הרב צבי קוגן הכרתי לפני כמה שנים באירוע היסטורי שקיימנו בדובאי- הטקס הראשון לציון יום השואה הבינלאומי על אדמת מדינה ערבית, מיד אחרי הסכמי אברהם, כשהוא כיבד בנוכחותו וגם אמר שם קדיש. הדיווחים על החשש שנחטף מדאיגים מאוד. במדינה כמו איחוד האמירויות שהכל מרושת מצלמות אפשר מהר מאוד… pic.twitter.com/b4R2wgV2qm
— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) November 23, 2024
The public is asked to daven for Zvi Hacohen ben Etel
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