Ephraim Mirvis wrote on Sunday that “no act of evil will deter us from uniting against the forces of darkness that seek to divide us.”
An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi, Zvi Kogan, who went missing last week in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been found dead in what Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has called a “devastating blow” for peace on Sunday.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Kogan had been found after he was killed in what it described as a “heinous antisemitic terror incident.” While Israeli authorities did not say how they determined the killing of Kogan was a terror attack and offered no additional details, the announcement has drawn international attention as regional tensions escalate.
Kogan, 28, was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi managing Rimon Market, a kosher grocery store in Dubai, a city that has seen an influx of Israeli tourists and businesses since the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords. His disappearance on Thursday prompted a search, with the Emirati Interior Ministry describing Kogan as being “missing and out of contact”, adding that “specialized authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report.”
While the details surrounding Kogan’s death remain unclear, Israeli leaders have vowed to seek justice for the attack.
In response to Kogan’s death, Mirvis took to X, formerly Twitter, to condemn the incident.
