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Did U.S. Spy on Israel? Did Mossad Hack France?

Plus an Iranian political prisoner freed by Facebook, and more in the news

by
Stephanie Butnick
October 25, 2013
A mobile device which runs with a security software shown on October 25, 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany. (PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)
A mobile device which runs with a security software shown on October 25, 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany. (PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP/Getty Images)

• In light of news that the U.S. may have monitored the communications of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and more than 30 other world leaders, Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom alleged that the NSA spied on Israel, monitoring information about Iran and the peace process. [Times of Israel]

• Meanwhile, France’s Le Monde is reporting that the Mossad hacked former French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s communication network in May 2012. [Jerusalem Post]

• Look, it’s Gary Shteyngart at a fancy Prada party. [W Magazine]

• Iranian political prisoner Majid Tavakoli was freed following a Facebook campaign spearheaded by Advancing Human Rights executive director and Tablet contributor David Keyes. [CBS]

• Simon Cowell, Friend of the Israel Defense Forces. [JTA]

• Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World, aka actor Jonathan Goldsmith of Marina Del Ray, gives Pope Francis his blessing. [Esquire]

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.