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The murder of Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who lived in Abu Dhabi, has shocked the UAE’s small Jewish community, which has been maintaining a low profile since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent wars in Gaza and Lebanon.
After Kogan was reported missing by the Israeli government on Thursday, the UAE confirmed on Sunday that “three perpetrators involved in the murder” were arrested. The statement didn’t provide a motive, and stressed that the country is committed to protecting “social harmony and peaceful coexistence.”
Kogan, 28, managed a kosher grocery store in Dubai and was a member of the Chabad branch of Orthodox Judaism. He worked with Rabbi Levi Duchman — the UAE’s most prominent Jewish leader — to establish a community for Jews in the country following the normalization with Israel under the Abraham Accords in 2020. The community established a nursery, Hebrew school, education and welfare programs, facilities for gatherings and religious services, as well as Kosher compliance.
Though relations between the two countries have persisted since the Oct. 7 attacks, UAE officials had advised the community to avoid large gatherings and provided additional security for events and holiday celebrations, according to a community member.
The measures were both reassuring and unsettling for Jewish residents in the UAE: The effort to ensure their safety also heightened their sense of vulnerability. Outward signs of Judaism — head coverings, facial hair on men, certain kinds of conservative dress — became less commonplace, and Mezuzahs, the “doorpost” markers of Jewish homes, came down.
Meanwhile, the Abraham Accords have endured: Trade between the UAE and Israel is growing. At a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “strengthen ties” with the UAE.
Kogan — who was married to US citizen Rivky Kogan — had a background in recruiting and went by Steve, according to his LinkedIn. Friends of the couple in the UAE who spoke to Semafor described the crime as shocking and scary. One friend said that they lived a normal life, and that Rivky is known for bringing back snacks from Trader Joe’s on her trips home to the US.
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Murder is exceedingly rare in the UAE, with a rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people, comparable to Spain, Norway, and Switzerland, according to the World Health Organization, and far lower than the 5.8 rate in the US. The Gulf hasn’t been an arena for the region’s proxy wars, and high-profile killings are rare and memorable.
Two earlier murders in Dubai showcase the surveillance and advanced investigative tools available to UAE authorities. In 2008, Egyptian billionaire Hisham Talaat Moustafa sent a bodyguard to kill his girlfriend, Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, in her apartment. Police were quickly able to identify the suspect using CCTV footage. And in 2010, a group of 11 foreign assassins tracked Hamas militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh from his Dubai airport arrival to his hotel room, where he was killed within hours. Police were able to recreate the entire operation, but the hit squad left the country shortly after and haven’t been apprehended. Israel is widely suspected of ordering the killing.
Mohammed’s view
Next week, the UAE will celebrate the anniversary of its founding and its success in making the country — where citizens are a minority — a beacon of stability and prosperity in a region often marked by turmoil. This achievement is a delicate balancing act that requires statecraft, geopolitical savvy, strong security, and wealth.
The UAE’s efforts to foster coexistence face great challenges: Normalizing ties with Israel while navigating the fallout from the war in Gaza, managing tensions between India and Pakistan — whose citizens are its biggest minorities — and keeping political Islam and extremism at bay. These pressures are constant, making the UAE’s relative harmony surprising.
Kogan’s murder is “more than a crime in the UAE — it was a crime against the UAE,” UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba posted on X. “It was an attack on our homeland, our values, and our vision. In the UAE, we welcome everyone.”
Jews in the UAE are understandably afraid. They are pioneers, believing in the possibility of a peaceful, fulfilling life in a region that has been welcoming to millions of other foreigners. But no one is ever fully protected from humanity’s darkness. Kogan’s tragic murder is the latest reminder.