Yossi Cohen
| Yossi Cohen | |
|---|---|
| יוסי כהן | |
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| Director of Mossad | |
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Assumed office January 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Benjamin Netanyahu |
| Preceded by | Tamir Pardo |
| 9th National Security Advisor (Israel) | |
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In office August 2013 – January 2016 |
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| Preceded by | Yaakov Amidror |
| Succeeded by | Yaakov Nagal (Acting) |
Yosef "Yossi" Meir Cohen (Hebrew: יוסי מאיר כהן; born 1961) is the current Director of Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel.
Cohen was born in Jerusalem to a religious family and grew up in the Katamon neighborhood. His father, Leo, was a seventh-generation Israeli and Irgun veteran. He worked at Bank Mizrahi, reaching a senior position there. His mother was a teacher.
Cohen is a 30-year-veteran of the Mossad and described as 'able to inspire the confidence of his charges'. He ran agents in a number of countries over his career, and led the Mossad's collections division ("Tsomet"). From 2011 to 2013, he was the deputy director, serving under Tamir Pardo. He was known publicly as "Y" (Hebrew: "י") in this post. Cohen won the prestigious Israel Security Prize for his Mossad work.
Intelligence reporter Ronen Bergman has written that Cohen has a reputation as a tough boss, that he speaks perfect English, French, and Arabic, and is also a marathon runner.
In August 2013 he was appointed the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Israel. In December 2015, Cohen was appointed to succeed Tamir Pardo as director of Mossad. and assumed office in January 2016.
Cohen has four children. One of his sons, Yonatan, is a former officer in Unit 8200 and has cerebral palsy. He also has one granddaughter.
He is nicknamed "the Model" for his neat appearance.
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Wikipedia