{{Short description|Israeli intelligence officer (born 1961)}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Yossi Cohen | native_name = יוסי כהן | native_name_lang = he | image = Yossi Cohen (cropped).jpg | caption = Cohen in 2016 | alt = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|9|10|df=yes}} | birth_place = Jerusalem | office = Director of Mossad | term_start = 5 January 2016 | term_end = 1 June 2021 | prime_minister = Benjamin Netanyahu | predecessor = Tamir Pardo | successor = David Barnea | prior_term = | order2 = 9th | office2 = National Security Advisor (Israel) | term_start2 = August 2013 | term_end2 = January 2016 | predecessor2 = Yaakov Amidror | successor2 = Eytan Ben-David }} '''Yosef "Yossi" Meir Cohen''' ({{langx|he|יוסף מאיר כהן}}; born 10 September 1961) is an Israeli intelligence officer.
After mandatory service in the Israeli Defense Forces, Cohen joined the Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel, in 1982. He rose to lead Mossad's Tzomet Division and was the agency's deputy director from 2011 to 2013, when he was appointed National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In 2016, Cohen succeeded Tamir Pardo as the Mossad's director. During his tenure, he oversaw Mossad's operation to steal Iran's nuclear archive and was the chief negotiator during the Abraham Accords. He stepped down from the agency in 2021.
==Early life== Cohen was born in Jerusalem<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/deputy-mossad-chief-appointed-national-security-adviser/|title=Deputy Mossad chief appointed national security adviser|date=21 August 2013|work=The Times of Israel|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref> to a religious family and grew up in the Katamon neighborhood. His father Aryeh was an eighth-generation Sabra who was descended from one of the founding families of the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem. He worked in a senior position at Bank Mizrahi and was also an Irgun veteran.<ref name="taps">{{cite news|first=Raoul|last=Wootliff|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-said-set-to-tap-yossi-cohen-as-next-mossad-chief/|title=Netanyahu said set to tap Yossi Cohen as next Mossad chief|newspaper=The Times of Israel|date=7 December 2015|accessdate=1 January 2016}}</ref> His mother Mina was a teacher and school principal.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Dolev|url=http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/politics/the-next-mossad-director-yossi-cohen-17627|title=The next Mossad Director – Yossi Cohen|website=Jerusalem Online|date=7 December 2015|accessdate=1 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210224746/http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/politics/the-next-mossad-director-yossi-cohen-17627 |archive-date=10 December 2015}}</ref> She was a seventh-generation Sabra, born to a Jewish family rooted in Hebron, now part of the West Bank.
Cohen was raised in a religious household and was a member of the Bnei Akiva religious Zionist youth movement. He attended the religious high school Yeshivat Or Etzion.<ref name="taps"/>
==Career== [[File:Secretary Kerry, Special Envoy Lowenstein Sit With Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, National Security Adviser Cohen Before Bilateral Meeting in Washington (22758977740).jpg|thumb|left|U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, flanked by U.S. Special Envoy for Israeli–Palestinian Negotiations Frank Lowenstein and Israeli National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen, on 11 November 2015, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.]]
Cohen was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in 1979. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the 35th Paratroopers Brigade. He served as a soldier and a squad leader.<ref>{{cite web|first=Chaim |last=Levinson|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-08-26/ty-article-magazine/.premium/more-ops-more-secrets-more-money-mossads-supercharged-makeover/0000017f-f641-d460-afff-ff67ac1a0000|title=A Golden Age for the Mossad: More Targets, More Ops, More Money|website=Haaretz|date=26 August 2018|url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180824200607/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-more-ops-more-secrets-more-money-mossad-s-supercharged-makeover-1.6410934|archive-date=24 August 2018}}</ref> After being discharged, he studied at university in London, and joined the Mossad in 1982.<ref name="The Independent">{{Cite news|first=Ben|last=Lynfield|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/yossi-cohen-the-israeli-spymaster-straight-out-of-le-carr-and-ian-fleming-takes-charge-of-mossad-a6765561.html|title=The Israeli spymaster straight out of Le Carré|date=8 December 2015|work=The Independent|access-date=2 July 2017}}</ref> His initial codename was "Callan," after the British TV series that he was a fan of.<ref name="TOI stunning interview">{{cite web|date=11 June 2021|title=In stunning, revelatory interview, ex-Mossad chief warns Iran, defends Netanyahu|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-stunning-revelatory-interview-mossad-chief-warns-iran-defends-netanyahu/|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=30 May 2024|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref> He became a case officer, charged with recruiting and handling spies in foreign nations. While in training, he had been the only religious candidate in the Mossad's case officer course at the time.<ref name="taps"/>
He ran agents in a number of countries over his career, and rose to lead the Mossad's collections division ("Tsomet").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://israelspy.com/veteran-spy-runner-moves-from-mossad-to-be-netanyahus-chief-advisor-on-national-security-iran-options-a-key-focus/|title=Veteran Spy-Runner Moves from Mossad to be Netanyahu's Chief Advisor on National Security — Iran Options Are a Key Focus|date=21 August 2013|website=IsraelSpy.com|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref> From 2011 to 2013, he was the deputy director of the Mossad,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/03/30/jewish-100-2015-yossi-cohen-government/|title=Jewish 100, 2015: Yossi Cohen – Government|website=Algemeiner.com}}</ref> serving under Tamir Pardo. He was known publicly as "Y" (Hebrew: "י") in this post.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4078264,00.html|title=Mossad chief names new deputy|first=Ronen|last=Bergman|date=5 June 2011|work=Ynetnews|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref> Cohen won the prestigious Israel Security Prize for his Mossad work.<ref name="Keinon">{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/Defense/PM-names-deputy-Mossad-head-as-new-National-Security-Council-chief-323829|title=PM names deputy Mossad head as new National Security council chief|first=Herb|last=Keinon|date=21 August 2013|work=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
In August 2013, he was appointed the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
=== Mossad director === In December 2015, Cohen was appointed to succeed Tamir Pardo as director of the Mossad,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/14031/Yossi-Cohen-is-next-Mossad-Director/|title=Yossi Cohen is next Mossad Director|date=7 December 2015|website=Debka.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Yossi-Cohen-named-new-Mossad-chief-436596/|title=Yossi Cohen named new Mossad chief|date=7 December 2015|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> and assumed office in January 2016. Cohen is one of the closest officials to Netanyahu.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|first=Yonah Jeremy|last=Bob|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/yossi-cohen-the-mossad-spy-chief-who-stole-irans-secret-nuclear-archives-602811|title=Yossi Cohen: The Mossad spy chief who stole Iran's secret nuclear archive|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=September 29, 2019|access-date=2019-09-29}}</ref>
In January 2018, Cohen oversaw the Mossad operation to steal Iran's secret nuclear archive in Tehran and smuggle it out of the country.<ref name="auto"/> According to the ''Jerusalem Post'', a map of nuclear sites captured in the operation has not yet been made public.<ref name="auto"/> Among the assassinations attributed to the Mossad during Cohen's tenure were those of Hamas drone expert Mohamed Zouari in Tunisia, Hamas rocket expert Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh in Malaysia, and Iranian nuclear program chief Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/02/politics/iran-scientist-israel-assassination-us/index.html|title=US official says Israel was behind assassination of Iranian scientist|first=Kylie|last=Atwood|website=CNN|date=2 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/malaysian-police-release-photo-of-suspect-in-killing-of-hamas-rocket-expert/|title=Malaysian police release photo of suspect in killing of Hamas rocket expert|first1=Stuart|last1=Winer|website=The Times of Israel|date=2 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|first=Jack|last=Khoury|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/hamas-gives-new-evidence-linking-mossad-to-drone-expert-s-killing-1.5466026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204050941/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/hamas-gives-new-evidence-linking-mossad-to-drone-expert-s-killing-1.5466026|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2018|title=Hamas: Mossad agents carrying Bosnian passports behind Tunisia drone expert assassination|newspaper=Haaretz|date=November 16, 2017}}</ref>
Cohen has also been the chief Israeli official in charge of managing Israel's largely clandestine relations with various Arab nations. He has often met with representatives of Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar and helped negotiate Netanyahu's visit to Oman in 2018. Reportedly, he met Sudan's chief of intelligence, though the Sudanese intelligence service denied it. He was Israel's chief negotiator in arranging the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/mossad-chief-reportedly-spearheaded-deal-with-uae-made-several-trips-to-gulf/|title=From Mossad overtures to frenetic US diplomacy: How UAE deal reportedly happened|website=The Times of Israel|date=14 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Rina|last=Bassist|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2020/08/israel-uae-us-oman-bahrain-benjamin-netanyahu-yossi-cohen.html|title=Mossad chief likely to continue advancing Israel, UAE contacts|website=Al-Monitor|date=August 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/sudan-intel-chief-denies-meeting-mossad-head-to-talk-supplanting-nations-leader/|title=Sudan intel chief denies meeting Mossad head to talk supplanting nation's leader|website=The Times of Israel|date=2 March 2019}}</ref>
In June 2021, Cohen retired from Israel's national intelligence agency.<ref>{{Cite web|date=21 June 2021|title=Key passages from outgoing Mossad chief's unprecedented TV interview|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/key-passages-from-outgoing-mossad-chiefs-revelatory-tv-interview/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210623020102/https://www.timesofisrael.com/key-passages-from-outgoing-mossad-chiefs-revelatory-tv-interview/|archive-date=23 June 2021|access-date=23 June 2021|work=The Times of Israel|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Political views== === Israeli–Palestinian conflict === At a conference in 2019 in Herzliya, Israel, Cohen announced that Israel has a unique window of opportunity to reach a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians. He stated that this is also the view of the Mossad unit whose job it is to analyze diplomatic opportunities. Given the present good relations with the United States, the Russian government, and restoration of partial diplomatic ties with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf centered around opposition to Iran, in Cohen's view there is a one-time opportunity for Middle East peace under terms very beneficial to Israel that the Israeli government must now seize.<ref>{{cite web|website=Al-Monitor|date=8 July 2019|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/07/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-yossi-cohen-mossad-mandelblit.html#ixzz5tDCG1UbW|title=Mossad Chief Exposes Vision of Peace, Calls to Act}}</ref>
''The Jerusalem Post'' reported in September 2019 that Cohen "does not believe anything will move on the peace process until Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas leaves office."<ref name="auto"/>
=== Relationship with Netanyahu === Netanyahu reportedly considered Cohen and Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer to be the two best candidates to succeed him as prime minister when he leaves office.<ref name="auto"/> In a 2021 interview, Cohen stated that his "the relationship of trust" with Netanyahu was "very useful for the Mossad's operations and its development," but denied that it had affected the Mossad's independence.<ref name="TOI stunning interview"/>
== Controversies == === James Packer gift === In August 2021, Attorney General of Israel Avichai Mandelblit announced an investigation into claims that Cohen had accepted a $20,000 gift from Australian billionaire James Packer.<ref>{{cite web|date=9 August 2021|title=State prosecutors reportedly to probe ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/state-prosecutors-reportedly-to-probe-ex-mossad-chief-yossi-cohen/|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=30 May 2024|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref> In 2022, Cohen returned the gift to Packer,<ref>{{cite web|date=14 April 2022|title=Ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen returns cash-gift received from billionaire Packer|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-04-14/ty-article/.premium/ex-mossad-chief-yossi-cohen-returns-cash-gift-received-from-billionaire-packer/00000180-5bc3-d615-a9bf-dfd3653b0000|author-last=Weitz|author-first=Gidi|access-date=30 May 2024|work=Haaretz}}</ref> and in 2023, the Attorney General's office concluded the investigation, finding that the gift had been approved by the Mossad's legal adviser.<ref>{{cite web|date=15 March 2023|title=AG ends police probe into ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen over suspected illicit gift|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/ag-ends-police-probe-into-ex-mossad-chief-yossi-cohen-over-suspected-illicit-gift/|author-last=Sharon|author-first=Jeremy|access-date=30 May 2024|work=The Times of Israel}}</ref>
=== Channel 13 investigation === In December 2021, Channel 13 released a report claiming that Cohen had had an affair with a flight attendant in 2018 and had revealed classified information to her.<ref>{{cite web|date=22 December 2021|title=Mossad chief had affair and revealed classified information, report says - Israel News|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-12-22/ty-article/former-mossad-director-had-affair-and-revealed-classified-information-report-says/0000017f-db12-df62-a9ff-dfd78dc10000|author-last=|author-first=|access-date=30 May 2024|work=Haaretz}}</ref>
=== Intimidation of Fatou Bensouda === In spring 2024, it was reported that Cohen had threatened Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda and her family when he was Mossad director after Bensouda opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Harry |date=2024-05-28 |title=Revealed: Israeli spy chief 'threatened' ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/28/israeli-spy-chief-icc-prosecutor-war-crimes-inquiry |access-date=2024-05-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}:''According to accounts shared with ICC officials, he is alleged to have told her: "You should help us and let us take care of you. You don't want to be getting into things that could compromise your security or that of your family".''</ref> Tamir Pardo, Cohen's predecessor as Mossad director, compared the allegations to "like Cosa Nostra blackmail," saying it was "at the extreme of things that must not be done."<ref>{{cite web|date=30 May 2024|title='Sounds like Cosa Nostra blackmail': Former Mossad chief on successor's alleged threats against ICC prosecuto|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-05-30/ty-article/.premium/sounds-like-cosa-nostra-blackmail-former-mossad-chief-on-successors-alleged-threats/0000018f-c9a3-da41-a9cf-d9bfb1820000|author-last=Melman|author-first=Yossi|access-date=30 May 2024|work=Haaretz}}</ref> Haaretz journalist Gur Megiddo subsequently reported that Cohen had attempted to convince Congolese president Joseph Kabila to assist in the intimidation and that he had been threatened by government officials over his investigation into Cohen.<ref>{{cite web|date=30 May 2024|title=Israeli journalist describes threats over reporting on spy chief and ICC|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/30/journalist-threatened-over-reporting-on-spy-chief-and-icc-israeli-newspaper-says|author-last=Beaumont|author-first=Peter|access-date=30 May 2024|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
== Assessments == Intelligence reporter Ronen Bergman has written that Cohen has a reputation as a tough boss, that he speaks fluent English, French, and Arabic.<ref>{{cite news|title=What the new boss of Mossad means for Israeli foreign policy|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21679710-israels-new-spy-chief-will-also-need-be-diplomat-what-new-boss-mossad|access-date=9 December 2015|newspaper=The Economist|date=8 December 2015}}</ref>
In September 2019, ''The Jerusalem Post'' listed Cohen as the most influential Jew of the year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/50-Influencers-2019|title=50 Influencers 2019|work=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=2 October 2019}}</ref>
== Personal life == Cohen lives in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut and is a Masorti Jew.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/95795-151216-new-mossad-chief-israel-needs-heavenly-help|title=New Mossad chief: Israel needs heavenly help|website=i24NEWS|date=December 15, 2015 }}</ref> He and his wife Aya have four children.<ref name="Keinon" /> One of his sons, Yonatan, is a former officer in Unit 8200 and has cerebral palsy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4422452,00.html|title=Newly appointed National Security Advisor Cohen's son reveals moving family story|first=Itamar |last=Eichner|date=26 August 2013|work=Ynetnews|access-date=10 February 2014}}</ref> He also has one granddaughter. He is also a marathon runner and is known as 'The Model' for his stylish appearance.<ref name="The Independent"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * Yossi Melman, [https://www.jpost.com/Jerusalem-Report/Mr-Charming-566680 What's next for the charming head of the Mossad?], ''The Jerusalem Post'', September 7, 2018
{{Mossad Directors}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Yossi}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Directors of the Mossad Category:Israel Defense Prize recipients Category:Israeli Conservative Jews Category:People from Jerusalem Category:Yeshivat Or Etzion alumni