New Mossad chief enters office

Former National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen was sworn in on Wednesday as the new head of the Mossad. Cohen, who replaced Tamir Pardo, is slated to lead Israel's spy agency for the next five years.

At Wednesday's festive swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to Cohen: "We come from the same neighborhood. I heard from you about your splendid family, about its roots, the Zionist spark, and the operational path that you took. Over the past two and a half years, you served at my side as national security adviser and head of the National Security Council. I had the opportunity to be impressed by your abilities, your comprehension of the arena in which the State of Israel is found, your control of the full range of relevant issues, and your excellent contacts with those near and far, some of whom maintain their distance from us but I saw how you found a way to draw them closer.

"I am convinced that you will be able to move the Mossad forward and raise the quality of its work even higher. The challenges, I must tell you, will not wait for you, as you know, as you all certainly know. They pile up daily, not just on the desk but mainly in the field. The head of the Mossad bears a vast responsibility. But this is the essence of the story of our people over the generations, especially in the years of our national revival. Our strength depends on the willingness of the best of our sons and daughters to bear the yoke of responsibility in order to ensure the life, freedom and prosperity of the nation."

The prime minister also praised the outgoing Mossad chief for his work over the past five years. Netanyahu told Pardo, "I would like to thank you again for your continuing contribution to the defense of the State of Israel."

Netanyahu went on to say, "The work of security knows no rest. Israel is the most challenged country on earth, a bastion of democracy in the heart of a region strewn with dangers. The first order in ensuring the existence of a living creature, of any living organism, is the identification of dangers in time and repelling them in time."

Addressing Mossad employees at the ceremony, Cohen said, "Only together will we achieve accomplishments, bolster the Mossad's operations and lead it to new heights."

Pardo wished his successor well. "You have all that is necessary to take the Mossad into new realms," Pardo said to Cohen.

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