Israel says rabbi killed in UAE in 'anti-Semitic' attack

Israel condemns murder of Rabbi in UAE as anti-Semitic terrorist attack, vowing to pursue killers with all means.

Israel condemned on Sunday (November 24, 2024) the murder of a rabbi in the United Arab Emirates, calling it an anti-Semitic "terrorist attack" and vowing to use all means to deal with his killers.

The body of Tzvi Kogan, who had been missing since Thursday, was found by security services in the Gulf Arab state, the prime minister's office and the foreign ministry said in a joint statement.

The Israeli-Moldovan national was living and working in the UAE as a representative of the Chabad Hasidic movement, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group known for its outreach efforts worldwide.

"This murder was carried out in the UAE. The murder of an Israeli citizen and a Chabad emissary, is an abhorrent anti-Semitic terrorist attack," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of a Cabinet meeting.

"The State of Israel will use all means, and will deal with these murderers, and those who dispatched them, to the fullest extent of the law. None of them will get away," he added, without elaborating.

Israeli officials did not provide any details about the circumstances of Kogan's murder.

The UAE, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020 alongside other countries including Bahrain and Morocco, has yet to confirm his death.