Former Mossad chief: 'We saved many lives in Britain, it's not safe for Jews there'

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, in an interview with a British podcast, sharply criticized the UK government, urging it to support Israel as Israel supported it during terrorism, and claimed it is not safe for Jews to walk the streets of London and Manchester. He quoted the former head of MI5 who thanked him for disrupting extensive terrorist activity.

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who served from 2016 to 2021, gave an interview today (Friday) to the British podcast "The General and the Journalist" of The Times, and sharply criticized the UK government. Cohen said Britain is attacking Israel wrongly, and called on it to support Israel "as we supported you when you suffered terrorism on your lands." He quoted the former head of MI5 who told him: "Yossi, you deserve an Oscar for what you did here. You disrupted a huge amount of terrorist activity within Britain." Cohen added that "it is not safe to walk the streets of London or Manchester if you are Jewish," and that the UK government should understand that Israel reads the actions of terrorists. The remarks come against the backdrop of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham's apology last month for the Labour Party's actions in late 2023, along with his intention to consider sanctions against Israel. Cohen responded that "criticism is fine, but opposition to what we are doing is not fine," and stressed that Israel never initiated the war in Gaza, but Hamas and Islamic Jihad did.