Israel says rabbi living in United Arab Emirates missing

JERUSALEM

Israeli authorities said Saturday that a rabbi residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has gone missing.

A statement by the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Mossad intelligence agency said Rabbi Zvi Kogan, an Israeli citizen of Moldovan origin and a representative of the Chabad movement, "has been missing under mysterious circumstances since Thursday afternoon."

It added that UAE authorities have opened an investigation into the disappearance.

Majed Al Mansoori, director of the UAE Foreign Nationals Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Interior Ministry “is implementing extensive measures in its search for the missing person, affirming that the relevant authorities in the UAE have initiated the search operations and investigations immediately following the receipt of the report.”

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala