Hundreds of Israelis attended the burial of a rabbi killed in the United Arab Emirates after Emirati authorities said three suspects were in custody over his suspected murder.
Zvi Kogan, a 28-year-old UAE-based Chabad rabbi, was found dead last week, following what has been called an antisemitic attack.
During the funeral on Monday night, Alexander Kogan, the late rabbi’s father, said “How can you already be gone?”
“Zvi was innocent and that’s how he arrives in heaven,” the father told the mourners at an emotionally and rainy ceremony in Kfar Chabad, a town in central Israel founded by the movement.
“The whole world is shaken by your murder – they hate us around the world because we are Jews,” Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef said.
According to the Times of Israel, one speaker said several babies had already been named after Kogan.
Kogan was buried at the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem on Monday evening.
The Moldovan-Israeli dual national was living in Dubai as an emissary of Chabad before he went missing on Thursday. His body was recovered in the Emirati city of Al Ain near the UAE-Oman border on Sunday igniting a murder investigation.
The Emirati police have arrested three Uzbek nationals suspected of murdering Kogan. After “preliminary investigations” the interior ministry identified them in a statement: “The authorities revealed the identities of the three perpetrators, all of whom are Uzbek nationals.”
The interior ministry published photos of three blindfolded and named the suspects as Olimboy Tohirovich, 28, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28, and Azizbek Kamilovich, 33.
The ministry said authorities were taking “the necessary actions to uncover the details, circumstances and motives of the crime.”
Ynet news reported that Kogan’s car was found abandoned in Al Ain and claimed there were signs of a struggle in the vehicle.
The suspects were arrested in Turkey and handed over to Emirati authorities, according to Hebrew media reports late Monday, which played down suspicions that Iran may have been behind the murder.
Iran has denied any involvement in the incident amid suspicion that the Islamic Republic orchestrated the killing.
Tehran has directed attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad and was initially suspected in Kogan’s killing, “categorically rejects the allegations of Iran’s involvement in the murder of this individual,” Iran’s embassy in Abu Dhabi said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday.
The UAE signed a peace agreement with Israel in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump, was an architect of the Accords, and has pledged $1 million to Chabad UEA in the wake of the rabbi’s death.
Kushner said the Emirates was committed to supporting the Jewish community. In a tweet on Monday evening, he wrote “In the UAE, people of all faiths and backgrounds thrive together in an environment of mutual understanding and respect.
Ivanka and I are saddened by the loss of Rabbi Kogan, who was senselessly murdered to stop the historic bridges he was building between Jews and Muslims in the UAE. The success of his work, in partnership with the bold and positive vision of the Emirati government, has been a…
— Jared Kushner (@jaredkushner) November 25, 2024
“Ivanka and I will be donating $1 million to the Chabad of UAE and will redouble our efforts to work with the Jewish community and the country’s leadership to build a resilient, vibrant Jewish community in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
“To all who wish to aggravate these historic divides, know that your efforts only strengthen the resolve of the Jewish community to contribute to societies that respect and welcome us,” he posted. “History has shown that those who embrace the Jewish people benefit, and those who persecute the Jewish people ultimately face spectacular defeat.”
In response to the donation, Kushner’s brother Joshua, who is married to model Karlie Kloss, said he was “inspired” by their “leadership.”
“Karlie and I will match your donation of $1 million. May we live in a time of peace, unity and acceptance. May Rabbi Kogan’s memory be a blessing.”
A fundraising page for the late rabbi’s widow Rivky Kogan has already raised more than $786k.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned “the murder of an Israeli citizen and a Chabad emissary,” calling it “an abhorrent antisemitic terrorist attack.”
The White House called for accountability for the “horrific crime.”
Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said on X that “we mourn the tragic loss” of Kogan and “strongly condemn this hateful act. Our thoughts are with his family, the Jewish community, and all who grieve”.
The UAE ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Oitaba, wrote “Zvi Kogan’s murder was more than a crime in the UAE — it was a crime against the UAE. It was an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision.
“In the UAE, we welcome everyone. We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind. We honour Zvi Kogan’s memory by recommitting ourselves to these values.”
