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Mossad Retrieves Trove of Documents, Belongings of Executed Spy Eli Cohen
Venerated Israeli spy Eli Cohen. Photo: JNS.org.
i24 News – Some 2,500 documents, photos, and belongings of executed spy Eli Cohen were retrieved from Syria in a special Mossad operation, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.
The trove was recovered due to a secret, complex operation in cooperation with the official Syrian archive, which held thousands of classified items ever since his capture and subsequent execution in Damascus’s al-Marjeh Square in 1965.
The items included the keys to his Damascus apartment, forged passports, and photos he took during his espionage, particularly of senior Syrian officials. He also left behind notebooks and diaries that were seized by Syria’s intelligence service.
The announcement came 60 years to the day after his execution, with the items presented in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Director David Barnea, and the widow of the late Eli Cohen, Mrs. Nadia Cohen. Included was Cohen’s will, which he wrote hours before his execution, and of which only a copy has been publicly revealed so far.
“Eli Cohen is a legend. In the test of time, he is revealed as the greatest intelligence agent in the history of the state, whose heroism and activity contributed to the historic victory in the Six-Day War,” Netanyahu said. “The Eli Cohen archive, which was brought with special effort, will educate generations, and expresses our tireless commitment to returning all of our missing persons, prisoners of war and abductees to our country.”
“Bringing the archive is a significant achievement of the highest ethical and moral value, and another step in advancing the investigation to locate the burial place of our man in Damascus,” said Barnea. “This important mission is before our eyes, and we are committed to continuing to do everything we can to realize it. “We will continue to work to locate and return all the missing, the fallen, and the kidnapped – the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for eternal rest in the tomb of Israel.”
This comes after Israel worked for decades to locate every piece of evidence relating to Cohen, aimed at discovering his fate after his execution and his grave. Included in the archive is the orginal sentencing for his execution, which stated that the court allowed the Damascus Jewish community religious leader, Rabbi Nissim Andabu, to accompany Cohen in accordance with Jewish tradition ahead of his execution.
Syrian intelligence also compiled a large file labeled “Nadia Cohen,” which collected his widow’s efforts to secure his release from prison, including letters to world leaders and the Syrian president.
The post Mossad Retrieves Trove of Documents, Belongings of Executed Spy Eli Cohen first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Rep. Ro Khanna Blasts AIPAC at Anti-Israel Conference Where Speakers Defend Hamas, Oct. 7 Attack
US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks as House members hold a press conference in Washington, DC, on Sept. 3, 2025. Photo: Josh Morgan-USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
US Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat widely reported to be considering a 2028 presidential bid, accused pro-Israel advocates of distorting Democratic Party priorities at a major Arab-American gathering known as ArabCon 2025 in Dearborn, Michigan late last week.
The remarks came amid a string of fiery statements from conference panelists opposing Israel and defending the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas which drew cheers from the crowd and criticism from outside observers.
Speaking on Saturday alongside “The Young Turks” host Cenk Uygur, Khanna was asked why many Democrats in the US Congress “hate their own voters” and shy away from allegedly popular policies.
“It’s money,” Khanna responded, before targeting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a prominent lobbying group that seeks to foster bipartisan support for a strong US-Israel alliance.
“You know, every other week, I get AIPAC attacking me, it’s like someone hasn’t cued them in that every time they attack me, my popularity goes up,” the lawmaker said. He also suggested that Democrats fear headlines labeling them as standing with “pro-terror radicals” for attending events like ArabCon.
“You can be true and consistent in either standing with people and standing with human rights and convictions, or you can do the bidding of interest groups and people in power,” Khanna said.
Though Khanna identifies as an ally of Israel, he has become increasingly critical of the Jewish state amid the war in Gaza in recent months, accusing the Israeli military of recklessly killing Palestinians while pushing for US recognition of a Palestinian state.
ArabCon only grew more heated as other panelists spoke over the course of the weekend. For example, Zahra Billoo, executive director of the San Francisco chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), praised the shuttered Holy Land Foundation, once the largest Muslim charity in the United States and later convicted of funneling money to Hamas.
“One of the most seminal cases of that era that I think we should all know about is the Holy Land Foundation, and what happened to the five co-founders of that incredible charity,” Billoo said. She described its founders as “incredible, generous, kind, beautiful men.”
The Algemeiner reported earlier this year that Billoo used the news of former US President Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis as an opportunity to warn the former commander-in-chief of the eternal punishment tied to his administration’s support for the Jewish state during the conflict in Gaza. Months earlier, she shared a post on social media that read in part, “Hamas deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.”
Billoo accused Israel of “genocide” on social media in 2021 and, last year, seemingly issued public support for Hamas, wishing for “the resistance be victorious.” That same year, she also condemned those who fundraise for the Israel Defense Force, writing on X, “Could you make the same fundraising effort for Palestinian resistance fighters without being ostracized, suspended, or fired?”
CAIR has long been a controversial organization. In the 2000s, it was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case. Politico noted in 2010 that “US District Court Judge Jorge Solis found that the government presented ‘ample evidence to establish the association’” of CAIR with Hamas.
Another panel drew headlines when Detroit activist Amer Zahr jokingly asked San Francisco State University professor Rabab Abdulhadi whether she condemned Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and rampage across southern Israel. Palestinian terrorists from Gaza murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during the onslaught, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Despite the atrocities, the ArabCon audience erupted in laughter as Abdulhadi replied, “I condemn Israel and the United States, and all oppression and imperial wars. And I never ever condemn Palestinian resistance.” She argued that Palestinians were “returning to their villages” on Oct. 7, denied that kibbutzim had been targeted, and insisted the operation was aimed at liberating prisoners. Abdulhadi added that Palestinian society has long debated whether tactics such as plane hijackings are legitimate.
Said Arikat, a journalist for Al-Quds newspaper who shared the stage, praised Abdulhadi’s response, calling it “an easy answer.”
Zahr, a board member of Dearborn Public Schools, posted a photo on social media honoring Hassan Nasrallah, the deceased leader of the Hezbollah terrorist group. In a 2021 blog post Zahr condemned “normalization” of Zionism and drew parallels between Zionism and Jim Crow laws targeting Black Americans in the US South.
The comments highlighted the tension surrounding ArabCon, which drew thousands to Dearborn from Sept. 26–28. Organizers billed the convention as a gathering to amplify Arab-American voices in politics.
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Denmark’s National Broadcaster: We Will Not Vote to Ban Israel From 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
Israel’s representative to the Eurovision Song Contest, Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the deadly Oct. 7 2023, attack by Hamas on the Nova festival in Israel’s south, holds an Israeli flag in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 23, 2025. Photo: “The Rising Star,” Channel Keshet 12/Handout via REUTERS
Denmark’s national broadcaster DR said on Tuesday it will not vote against Israel when the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) holds a special vote in November to decide if the Jewish state should be excluded from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) because of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
“DR supports the ESC as a cultural European event that has brought nations together through music since 1956. As such, we will not vote for any EBU member to be expelled from the competition, as long as they comply with the rules and regulations,” Gustav Lützhøft – head of culture, debate, and music at DR – said in a released statement. He added that DR’s participation in the Eurovision next year “remains conditional on there being a strong international community, control over security, and an apolitical framework around the competition.”
The EBU, which organizes the Eurovision, announced last week that the EBU’s General Assembly will hold an “extraordinary meeting” online in early November during which its members will vote on whether the Israeli public broadcaster KAN will be allowed to participate in the 2026 Eurovision held in Vienna, Austria. Kan released a statement in response to the EBU’s announcement, saying that it hopes the Eurovision “will continue to maintain its cultural and political character.”
“The removal of Israel’s public broadcasting body – one of the veteran, popular, and successful competitors throughout the decades of the competition – and especially on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Eurovision, which stood as a symbol of cooperation, kindness, and brotherhood, could be a step with significant consequences,” KAN added. “We are convinced that the European Broadcasting Union will continue to maintain the apolitical, professional, and cultural nature of the competition, especially on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Eurovision.”
Lützhøft previously stated that Denmark does not plan on withdrawing from the 2026 Eurovision if Israel participates. Meanwhile, several other countries have threatened to pull out of the competition if Israel is not banned, including Spain, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland, and Ireland.
Austria, the host country of the 2026 competition, has not publicly commented on demands to ban Israel from the Eurovision, but Austrian singer JJ, who won this year’s Eurovision, has also called for Israel’s exclusion from next year’s contest.
The 2026 Eurovision will take place in Vienna on May 16, with the semifinals airing on May 12 and 14. KAN announced on Monday that the singer who will represent Israel in the 2026 Eurovision will be selected again this year through the reality show “The Next Star,” which is set to air in Israel in the coming weeks.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet radio on Monday that it is important for Israel to participate in the 2026 Eurovision competition. “I have seen dangerous processes that begin with Eurovision and end in other places,” Herzog said. “The delegitimization of Israel and the attempt to exclude us from every possible arena are moves designed to weaken us. It starts with Eurovision but reaches matters that are vital to us. Every arena is important.”
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Reebok Demands Israel’s National Soccer Team Removes Logo From Jerseys Following BDS Threats
Fans display a Palestinian flag and an Israel flag during the France v Israel soccer match at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France on Nov. 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
The American footwear and apparel company Reebok has demanded that Israel’s national soccer team remove its logo from team uniforms due to threats from supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Reebok only began outfitting the national team last summer and even launched a campaign featuring the new uniforms designed by Israeli former soccer player Tal Shetach. The Boston-based company is said to have asked its local equipment supplier in Israel, MGS Group, to remove the Reebok logo from the kits and uniforms for Israel’s national soccer team, Israel’s N12 reported on Tuesday.
The Israel Football Association confirmed the news, adding that its emblem and the Israeli flag “will continue to be proudly displayed on all national team uniforms.” The association said it never had a formal deal with Reebok and that the global brand “seemingly gave in to embarrassing boycott threats that were completely irrelevant.”
“The association entered into an agreement with a local equipment supplier and took into account that the new uniforms could feature various sponsors, certainly more courageous than Reebok International,” it explained. “We are convinced that in the near future there will be sponsors who will see great privilege in these days to be part of the national uniforms.”
One Israeli soccer team in the Premier League that is also linked to MGS and Reebok, Hapoel Haifa, has not received similar demands from Reebok, according to N12.
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which is Europe’s governing body of soccer, is preparing to hold an emergency vote this week on suspending Israeli teams from international soccer competitions, including next year’s World Cup, because of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. On Monday, Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness called for Israel to be suspended from international soccer competitions. Last week, Turkish Football Federation President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu wrote to FIFA, UEFA, and national soccer association chiefs urging them to impose a ban on Israel.
Israel’s men’s soccer team is set to play against Norway in Oslo on Oct. 11 in a qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and they have another qualifier game scheduled against Italy for Oct. 14.
The Norwegian Football Federation already said profits from the Oct. 11 match in Oslo will go to the international NGO Doctors Without Borders to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Klaveness, who also serves on UEFA’s 20-member executive committee, did not advocate for a boycott of the match, but said she believes sanctions should be placed on Israel.
“I work on the issue from a principled standpoint, but we will not boycott on our own. A boycott would only result in Israel going to the World Cup instead of us,” Klaveness said on Norwegian podcast “Pop and Politics.”
She added, “In general, we are now working for Israel to be sanctioned. We believe that they should be, and this is about upholding the rules. Personally, I believe that since Russia is out, Israel should also be out. As a football president you can have personal opinions, and I certainly have mine.”