Ashraf Marwan: Israel’s ‘Angel’ or Egypt’s Double Agent?
October 13, 2025 3 Comments
ASHRAF MARWAN, POPULARLY KNOWN “the Angel,” is regarded as one of the greatest spies in Israeli intelligence history—the man on whom the entire Israeli government relied, and the informant who warned of the Yom Kippur War. Long-standing suspicions that he was actually a double agent have been strongly dismissed.
However, a comprehensive investigation by two Israeli journalists, Ronen Bergman and Yuval Robovitz, published in the popular Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth under the title “The Angel of Lies”, presents a different picture. Based on thousands of secret documents not yet revealed and rare conversations with people involved in the operation, their report claims that ‘the Angel’ was actually the spearhead of Egypt’s deception plan before and during the war—and that he succeeded beyond all expectations.
A Spy or Double Agent?
Bergman and Robovitz examined whether Ashraf Marwan—advisor to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and a Mossad agent who died in 2007—was truly the best agent Israel had before the Yom Kippur War. Their findings indicate that a series of serious operational failures, combined with arrogance within the Israeli intelligence community, made Marwan one of the most dangerous spies ever to act against Israel.
They also investigated whether he was genuinely an Israeli agent who contributed meaningfully to Israel’s national security, as claimed by Mossad and by scholar Professor Uri Bar-Joseph, who wrote extensively about the Yom Kippur War intelligence failure and authored the well-known book The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel. Netflix later produced a film, The Angel, based on Bar-Joseph’s book.
Or, was Marwan, as the journalists argue, a double agent working for Egypt from the beginning—since volunteering for Israeli intelligence in 1970—and who managed to deceive Israel for years, particularly by delaying his warning about Egypt’s impending attack until roughly 12 hours before it began? According to Bergman and Robovitz, Marwan knew about Egypt’s plans weeks earlier but withheld that information, allowing Egypt to launch a surprise attack.
A Public Debate
Following the article’s publication, a public debate erupted between Bergman and Robovitz on one side and Professor Uri Bar-Joseph on the other, over Marwan’s true motives. Whether he was a double agent or a loyal Israeli operative, all agree he played a key role in the intelligence drama preceding the Yom Kippur War. Read more of this post
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BRITAIN’S SECURITY AGENCIES HAVE reportedly warned civil servants and parliamentarians that public places located near government buildings may be bugged by foreign intelligence agencies. The warning covers the SW1 postcode district of southwest London, which encompasses the City of Westminster and includes the Houses of Parliament, the Office of the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Steet, and Whitehall. The latter is home to several ministries and departments, including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet office, and the Ministry of Defense.
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France arrests members of humanitarian charity accused of being a Russian front
November 26, 2025 by Ian Allen 5 Comments
The organization in question was registered at the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture of southwestern France in 2022 under the name “Sud Ouest Solidarité Donbass” (“Solidarity for South-West Donbass). This was abbreviated in the organization’s marketing material as “SOS Donbass”. Its expressed mission is to raise funds in support of civilians in Ukraine’s war-torn region of Donbass, most of which is currently under Russian military control.
The DGSI said it began monitoring the activities of SOS Donbass in early 2025. It claims that members of the organization used the cover of humanitarian work in order to spread Russian propaganda in France on the orders of Moscow. It also claims that they attempted to collect “economic information” from executives of French firms. At least one member of the group participated in a concerted campaign of putting up posters in downtown Paris, bearing the slogan “Russia is not my enemy” (pictured), according to the DGSI.
The director of SOS Donbass, identified in French media reports as “Anna N.”, 40, who was born in Russia but lives in France, was arrested by DGSI on November 17. Another Russian-born member of SOS Donbass, “Vyacheslav B.”, also 40, was arrested on the same day. A third individual, “Vensan B.”, 63, who is French-born and lives in Paris’ northern Seine-Saint-Denis suburb, was arrested the following day. A fourth individual, identified as “Bernard F.”, 58, has been placed under strict supervision and is required to report to the police weekly.
According to France’s Le Parisien newspaper, Anna N. and Vyacheslav B. have been formally charged with “colluding with a foreign power”, “conducting activities to gather information on the interests of the nation for a foreign power” and “actions likely to harm the fundamental interests of the nation”, which carry sentences of up to 10 years.
► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 26 November 2025 | Permalink
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