Published: 1 March 2022
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Former Mossad director Yossi Cohen, who will speak at a UIA fundraiser this week, has been accused of some irregular behaviour
THE PRACTICE OF inviting former Israeli politicians, members of the defence and security establishment and advocates to speak at fundraising events has served Australia’s communal appeals well over the years. In recent years the list has included high-profile names such as former prime minister Ehud Barak and former Opposition leader Tzipi Livni, who have drawn large and appreciative audiences.
This year the United Israel Appeal has secured Ayelet Shaked, the current Minister of the Interior, and broadened its reach by also engaging prominent figures from the entertainment (Shira Hass, star of Unorthodox) and sporting worlds (Olympic gymnast medallist Linoy Ashram and ex-NBA basketballer Omri Casspi).
But the last speaker in the 2022 campaign (speaking by Zoom on Thursday night) is perhaps the biggest drawcard: Yossi Cohen, the former head of Mossad and a negotiator in the historic 2020 Abraham Accords that secured peace with a raft of Arab countries across the Middle East.
The name Mossad has been an instant magnet over the years for audiences keen to glean morsels of information about how the world’s most admired spy agency operates. But spymasters tend not to give up trade secrets, even for an audience paying serious money to hear them.
This year’s audiences, however, do not have to rely on a speech from Yossi Cohen to get their fill of revelations. All they have to do is read media reports from the past year.
Perhaps the most arresting, for an Australian audience, relates to Cohen’s alleged relationship with the Australian businessman James Packer. Last August Israeli media reported that police had opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding a $20,000 cash gift from Packer to Yossi Cohen’s daughter at her wedding.
It was also reported that Cohen was being investigated over claims that he was “suspected of sharing classified information with a flight attendant with whom he was in close personal contact for the past two years”.
In December, another report claimed that Cohen “helped secure his daughter a job at a firm with links to a senior Emirati official while still serving as head of the spy agency”.
Later that month, it was reported that “former Mossad and intelligence officials have lambasted… Cohen following an explosive investigative report that said he had revealed state secrets to a flight attendant with whom he was having an affair, as well as to her then-husband”.
Investigations into these allegations have not yet concluded.
Last month, in a story about the outgoing Israeli Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit, the Times of Israel reported: “Mandelblit’s replacement will have several … high-profile cases to deal with. These include… a gift of $20,000 that an Australian billionaire gave to ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen”.
Collectively, the allegations in these reports cast a shadow over Yossi Cohen’s character and reputation and raise doubts about whether he is an appropriate person to address a fundraising event in the name of supporting Israel.
Guest speakers for such events should be figures of unquestionable moral character. After all, the host organisation is implying, by inviting them to speak, that they are people we can look up to by virtue of their achievements and behaviour.
There are doubts about whether Yossi Cohen’s behaviour meets that standard. The media reports and police investigations have been on the public record yet they did not dissuade the UIA from inviting him to speak.
When Australian audiences tune in to his address on Thursday, they will be expected to give money. It is to be hoped they also exercise their judgment.
