Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, 28, Murdered by Terrorists in the UAE
by Moshe New – chabad.org
Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the United Arab Emirates who devoted himself to Jewish life in the Gulf state, was abducted on Thursday afternoon by Islamic terrorists in Dubai. In a horrific crime that has shaken the Jewish community of the UAE and around the world, as well as people of good will everywhere, Kogan was found murdered early Sunday morning. He was 28-years-old and leaves behind his wife, Rivky.
“The worldwide Chabad community, and the international community at large are shocked, grieving and outraged,” said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad movement—in a statement on Sunday. “Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a young Chabad emissary, was kidnapped and murdered in cold blood last week while serving the Jewish community in the UAE. Rabbi Kogan moved to UAE with his wife Rivky to answer a calling of service, only for his life to be cut short by terrorists. …
“Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries serve in countries around the globe in a spirit of generosity and kindness. Wherever they are stationed to grow and sustain Jewish life, they benefit the larger community as well with their love and light for all humanity…
“No country, no community, no society can afford the loss of these sustaining values.”
Kogan’s killing comes a little more than a year after the murder of more than 1,200 Jewish men, women and children by Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. Some 100 hostages remain in terrorist custody in Gaza.
Krinsky’s statement noted that Kogan will be laid to rest in the Land of Israel.
“Everybody loved him. No matter what background you had, if you were religious, not-religious, everyone had a connection to Zvi,” says an Israeli expat who has been a part of the Chabad community in Abu Dhabi for the last three years. “Zvi was a super smart guy who was able to talk to everyone in their language. Any time, during the night or the middle of the day, he would do anything to help a Jew. I never saw him complaining or talking negatively, he was just pure of heart.”
The UAE’s Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that they had apprehended three individuals. The ministry’s statement “stressed that it will utilize all legal powers to respond decisively and without leniency to any actions or attempts that threaten societal stability.” The UAE also reiterated its commitment “to implement all necessary deterrent measures to protect social harmony and peaceful coexistence.”
“We mourn with his wife and family, and with the entire Chabad community,” Krinsky wrote. “May G‑d console them, and may they find solace in his legacy.”
Beloved Emissary
Zvi Kogan was born in 1996 to Alexander and Etel Kogan in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem. He grew up in a Orthodox Jewish family but not a Chassidic one. After studying in various yeshivahs across Israel, Kogan began to grow closer to Chabad and the Chassidic way of life.
Kogan served his mandatory IDF service with the 84th Givati Brigade—an infantry brigade part of the Southern Command.
In 2020 Kogan joined his older brother, Reuven Kogan, and the team of rabbis at Chabad of the UAE. In the beginning, Zvi started off taking care of the basic physical needs of the Chabad center; ordering, managing staff, and logistics. He was also instrumental in the building of Dubai’s first ever mikvah, completed in 2021.
Rabbi Shloimy Ceitlin, now director of Chabad of Surprise, Ariz., visited the Emirates for six weeks to help with Chabad work in the summer of 2021, and stayed in touch with Kogan in the years since.
“He was a very fun guy,” Ceitlin said. “He was a real doer. He was never overwhelmed by the assignment. Jewish community building in the UAE isn’t always easy, but he never balked at any of it.”
Kogan shared a close relationship with the community of Jewish expats who increasingly called the UAE home in the last few years. He was recalled especially for his easygoing kindness.
“Zvi was the heart of the people, and like a brother to all who met him,” said an Israeli businessman in Abu Dhabi who asked not to be identified. “This is very hard for all of us here.”
In early 2022 Zvi met his wife, Rivky Spielman, a native of New York and the two got married soon after. Rivky is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the Chabad emissaries murdered by terrorists together with four of their guests at Chabad of Mumbai in 2008.
After their wedding, the Kogans moved permanently to the Emirates. Rivky taught in the local Jewish school and Zvi managed logistics at the Chabad center in Abu Dhabi. Working closely with Rabbi Yehuda and Mimi Marsow, who oversee the spiritual needs of the community, Kogan made sure all operations ran smoothly.
Kogan also managed and operated the kosher supermarket in Dubai—Rimon Market—which opened in December of 2022, as well as acting as an aide to Rabbi Levi Duchman, director of Chabad of the UAE. The couple connected with the thousands of Jewish visitors and residents in the UAE.
“I ate at their home every Shabbat—me and at least 20 others,” says another member of the local Jewish community. “When I was going through a bad break-up, Zvi coached me through it; he was there for me. And I was just one of the people, there were many more that he helped.”
In the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 19, 2024, Kogan was abducted in Dubai by terrorists and driven towards Oman. Kogan’s car—which terrorists stole when they abducted him—was abandoned in Al Ain, a city more than an hour from Dubai. His body was recovered on Sunday morning after security and intelligence agencies from a number of countries coordinated an intensive investigation to locate him.
“I want to express my deep shock – on my behalf, on behalf of all the members of the government, on behalf of the citizens of Israel, and on behalf of all the people of Israel – at the kidnapping and murder of Zvi Kogan, may his memory be a blessing,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. “This murder was carried out in the United Arab Emirates. The murder of an Israeli citizen and a Chabad Shliach is a despicable act of antisemitic terrorism.”
“There were no hours with Zvi,” says the local Jewish community member. “The kind of hospitality he and Rivky had is unbelievable. I can’t believe he is gone.”
“In this time of grief, we must all find the strength and courage to continue our sacred mission,” wrote Rabbi Avrohom Shemtov, chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad-Lubavitch, in a statement. “Each one of us, in our own way, must add light and transform the world under the reign of the Almighty, hastening the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our days.”
A fund has been set up to aid Kogan’s grieving widow. To contribute click here.
