Eight and a half years after the case first came to light, the identity of the “Ashkelon hacker” has been revealed. The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday lifted a long-standing gag order, allowing publication that the man is Michael Kadar, now 27, and permitting disclosure of his medical condition.
Kadar, who has autism and is battling a brain tumor, was arrested in Norway in October 2024, where he had sought asylum. His attorney, Nir Yaslovitzh, is fighting his extradition to the United States, arguing that Kadar has already been tried and served his sentence in Israel for the same offenses.
The court’s decision came after Yaslovitz requested publication of his client’s name and health condition to strengthen his defense. He said Kadar wants to speak publicly, under his full name and photo, about what he describes as Washington’s attempt to punish him again for crimes he already served time for.
Yaslovitz also presented in court a video in which an FBI investigator in Israel told Kadar at the end of an interrogation, “I’m going to kill you.” The lawyer argued that extradition would put his client’s life in immediate danger.
Judge Yaron Levy, who ruled in favor of publication, wrote: “The principles underlying the anonymity of juvenile defendants are significant, but not absolute. In this case, the overriding interest is the defendant’s ability to conduct his legal battle as he sees fit, alongside the fact that he is now an adult.”
Kadar previously served seven years of a 10-year prison sentence in Israel for making thousands of bomb threats against Jewish community centers, hospitals, and airports in the United States. His calls, placed under false identities, sometimes triggered evacuations and even flight diversions.
Nir YaslovitzhPhoto: Ronit YanonIn February, Israeli media published details of an internal U.S. prosecution memo, revealing that as early as 2021, Washington and Jerusalem had agreed that Kadar would serve his sentence in Israel. While American prosecutors opposed his early release, they did not at the time request his extradition.
Despite that agreement, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed for his extradition after Kadar was released from prison and later detained in Oslo at Washington’s request.
Kadar’s prolonged detention in Norway has worsened his health. In a letter to the Norwegian court, he described deteriorating mental stability, and Israel’s Foreign Ministry has expressed concern for his safety, citing dozens of suicide attempts during his prior imprisonment in Israel.
The “Ashkelon hacker” case first became public in 2017, when the FBI made the unusual move of asking Israel’s Lahav 433 cyber unit to investigate. The teen at the time was found to have orchestrated bomb hoaxes, cyber intrusions, and widespread terror threats, using hacked systems to disguise his identity.