Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in UAE goes missing; Israeli officials fear he may have been kidnapped

An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in the United Arab Emirates has gone missing, with Israeli authorities raising the suspicion Saturday he may have been kidnapped as tensions remain high with Iran.

Israeli media citing unnamed security sources reported that Zvi Kogan, who has been missing since noon Thursday, may have been kidnapped. The Israeli prime minister’s office on Saturday night acknowledged Kogan disappearance, without elaborating.

His disappearance comes as Iran has been threatening to retaliate against Israel after it launched a strike in October hitting sensitive military bases in the country. Tehran twice has launched missile attacks on Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon.

Emirati officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. State-run media in the UAE, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, did not immediately report the incident. Local Jewish officials in the UAE declined to comment.

“Since (Kogan’s) disappearance, and against the backdrop of information that this was a terrorist incident, an extensive investigation has been opened in the country,” the prime minister’s office said. “Israeli intelligence and security agencies are working continuously out of concern for the well-being and safety of Zvi Kogan.”

While the Israeli message did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have carried out kidnappings in the past in the UAE.

Western officials believe Iran runs intelligence operations in the UAE and keeps tabs on the hundreds of thousands of Iranians living across the country.

Iran is suspected of kidnapping and later killing British-Iranian national Abbas Yazdi in Dubai in 2013, though Tehran has denied involvement. Iran also kidnapped Iranian-German Jamshid Sharmahd in 2020 from Dubai, taking him back to Tehran where he was executed in October.

Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge Kogan’s disappearance.

The UAE diplomatically recognized Israel in 2020. In the time since, Israelis have come to the UAE to set up businesses and vacation. Emirati airlines have been a key link for Israel to the rest of the world as other carriers have stopped flying to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv amid the wars.

The UAE also has a burgeoning Jewish society, with synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners. However, the Mideast wars have sparked deep anger among Emiratis, Arabs and others living in the UAE.

Reich reported from New York.