Brazil’s far right has long had ties to the Netanyahu administration. Israeli flags are a common sight at Bolsonaro rallies. Benjamin Netanyahu has referred to Jair Bolsonaro as his brother. The Bolsonaro sons make regular trips to Israel, and Carlos Bolsonaro was investigated for setting up a parallel intelligence agency to spy on political opponents and journalists in partnership with the Israeli surveillance company Pegasus. One of Flávio’s campaign promises is to strengthen ties with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly supports Flavio Bolsonaro in this year’s Brazilian presidential election
President Lula, on the other hand, was the first Brazilian leader to ever visit Palestine. He has repeatedly accused the Israeli government of genocide. As Paulo Motoryn, the author of this piece, emphasizes, however, we do not know what campaign Nevo Cohen is working on, or whether it’s the presidential campaign. -PD
by Paulo Motoryn
Israeli political strategist Nevo Cohen has publicly said he is working on an election campaign in Brazil. For example, in June, he wrote, “I got back this week from an election campaign in Brazil,” while commenting on the Brazilian and Israeli elections.
Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Nevo Cohen (Design: Caio Prat / Noites Húngaras)
In that post, published June 17, Cohen described the Brazilian campaign as still “pretty calm,” with predictable “attacks and reactions.” He said those involved were “in position” and that a process of “restructuring and regrouping” had begun. He then previewed what would come next: “Once the World Cup ends, we’ll go on the offensive.”
That statement carries weight because Cohen isn’t a distant observer of Brazilian politics. He’s a professional strategist with campaign experience both in Israel and abroad, and he has previously worked for Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s current national security minister and one of the country’s leading far right figures.
Cohen’s relationship with Ben-Gvir goes beyond a one off consulting job. He ran the 2022 campaign for the far right Otzma Yehudit party and continued advising Ben-Gvir after he took office as national security minister.
In public comments, Cohen has even criticized the Netanyahu government for not being right wing enough. When asked directly about his own political leanings, though, Cohen declined to share his personal views, saying his worldview wasn’t relevant to his work.
Cohen also worked at CIY Global, a political strategy firm that, according to press reports, has provided services to political figures in Bulgaria and Costa Rica.
“It’s No Secret I’m Working on a Campaign in Brazil”
The June post wasn’t the only time Cohen spoke about his work in Brazil. In a podcast episode that aired July 7, less than three weeks later, he discussed his involvement in a Brazilian campaign as something that had already become public knowledge.
“It’s no secret anymore that I’m working on a campaign in Brazil,” he said. The podcast host responded that Cohen had already revealed this on the show itself.
In that same conversation, Cohen said the World Cup was part of the strategy his team had developed for Brazil. He said Brazil’s elimination from the tournament had disrupted some of the plans his team had prepared. The strategist avoided explaining exactly what the plan involved, but said they were working on “a campaign tied to the World Cup” and that Brazil’s early exit had forced a quick change in content.
“Now that Brazil’s been eliminated it has messed up some things for us. I won’t say exactly what,” Cohen said. According to him, the team had made a change to the content in the two days before and was waiting on the results. His comments suggest that what he described wasn’t limited to political advice. By his own account, it also involved producing or adapting content tied to the campaign.
Necessary Clarification
Before anyone tries to dismiss this investigation as antisemitic conspiracy theorizing, I want to make something clear. I am Jewish, and I recognize that antisemitism does exist in parts of society that see any Israeli as a threat, or that hold Jewish people broadly responsible for the actions of the state of Israel.
But this report isn’t about Jewish people or Israelis in general. It’s about the concrete activities of a political strategist tied to Israel’s far right, who has publicly stated he’s working on an election campaign in Brazil. Investigating his activities isn’t antisemitism. It’s journalism. My criticism of Zionism, Netanyahu and Israel’s far right goes hand in hand with my unwavering commitment to fighting antisemitism, racism and every form of intolerance.
Ten days later, Brazil came up again on the podcast. Cohen arrived late to the July 17 recording and explained that he had been on a call with someone abroad. His co host responded: “Brazil’s on the agenda, got it, calls from Brazil.” Cohen didn’t push back on the reference. It was the third recorded instance in about a month in which his work in Brazil was mentioned publicly.
Based on these statements, it’s clear that Cohen says he’s working on a campaign in Brazil and that his team planned actions tied to the World Cup. One key piece of information remains unknown, though: who he’s working for. Cohen hasn’t named name the candidate, party, company or political group that hired him in any public comments we have seen so far.
There’s also no evidence linking Cohen’s work to any specific candidacy. That raises a relevant question just days before the runoff of Brazil’s election: who hired Nevo Cohen? The strategist has not only repeatedly said he’s working in the country, he has described real time content adjustments and announced a more aggressive phase of the campaign after the World Cup.
THE OTHER SIDE: This report was unable to locate direct contact information for Nevo Cohen, so it was not possible to send him questions before publication. This space remains open for any statement, clarification or response from Cohen, which will be incorporated into the article if received.
This article first appeared in renowned investigative journalist Paulo Motoryn’s blog, Noites Húngaras. It has been translated by Panamerican Dispatch with his express authorization, and can be read in its original Portuguese here.