Good intelligence has always been the key to stability in the state. One of the most respected organizations is Israeli intelligence. Events that unfolded around the very existence of the state of Israel forced him to create a powerful intelligence network. Let's find out what the Israeli intelligence is called, consider its history and the tasks that are set before it.
Background to the creation of intelligence agencies
Israeli intelligence in a certain sense existed long before the emergence of the state of Israel. Back in 1929, a special organization appeared that was supposed to ensure the safety of Jews living in Palestine from attacks by Arabs, as well as provide corridors for illegal migration of Israelis. This service was called "Shay." She also recruited agents from among Arabs.
Already after Israel gained statehood in 1948, special-purpose organizations such as AMAN and Shabak arose, which were subordinate to the defense department. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had its own organization with intelligence functions - the Political Administration.
However, the organization of all these departments left much to be desired. In addition, they competed among themselves, often acted inconsistently, which harmed the state. Then the Israeli government began to think about creating a unified intelligence service on the American model.
The emergence of the Mossad
Modern Israeli intelligence is called the Mossad. The above circumstances caused its formation. Israeli intelligence "Mossad" was organized in April 1951. Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was directly involved in the process of its creation.
Mossad was formed by the merger of the Central Institute for Intelligence and Security and the Central Institute for Coordination. The first director of the new organization was Reuven Schiloach, nicknamed Mr. Intelligence, who was directly subordinate to Ben-Gurion.
First years of existence
Of course, the Mossad Israeli intelligence did not immediately gain world authority, it did not work out right away. Only years have been able to turn this organization into a clearly working mechanism. Initially, Mossad did not even have its operational service, and therefore, until 1957, agents from other Israeli special services had to be involved.
In 1952, Reuven Schiloach, realizing that he could not afford the task, resigned. The Israeli intelligence service received a new head - Isser Harel. Moreover, he also oversaw other special-purpose organizations. It was he who actually owed the merit of creating a highly effective intelligence structure from Mossad. No wonder D. Ben-Gurion himself gave Harel the nickname Memune, which is translated from Hebrew as “Responsible”. And Isser Harel really approached the organization of the activities of intelligence services with all responsibility. It is to him, first of all, that Israeli intelligence owes its formation. The name of the period when Harel was at the helm of the special services sounds like the era of Memune.
Reformation period
Isser Harel created modern Israeli intelligence, but in the early 60s of the last century he had a serious conflict with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who was called the Old Man by the eyes of the special services. Due to this conflict, Memune resigned. The new leader of the Mossad was the former director of military intelligence Meir Amit, who at that time had the rank of major general.
Isser Harel created an effective intelligence structure, but new trends demanded reforms in it. In particular, one of the most important tasks was the introduction of computerization and optimization of the personnel of the Mossad. These questions had to be resolved by Meir Amit, and he did an excellent job with the assigned tasks. First of all, Amit ordered the dismissal of those workers who did not meet his criteria. He developed new approaches to strategic planning and introduced the use of the latest information technologies.
The merit of the Mossad was that before the Six Day War, the Israeli government knew all the necessary information about the enemy, and, as a result, it defeated the Arab coalition, which was numerically superior to the armed forces of Israel, relatively easily.
But absolutely everything cannot be smooth, and the Israeli intelligence service is no exception. There were failures and a number of high-profile scandals, the most famous of which occurred in 1965, when the Moroccan opposition politician Ben-Barca was kidnapped and killed by the Mossad in Paris. This event provoked the wrath of French President Charles de Gaulle. This scandal served the Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol as a formal pretext for the dismissal of Meir Amit in 1968. Although in fact, the real reason was Eshkol’s desire to see at the helm of special services a person whom he could manage.
Further history of the Mossad
The new leader of the Mossad was Zvi Zamir. If earlier the activities of Israeli intelligence agencies were directed primarily against states that provided him with military danger, now Israeli intelligence has concentrated on fighting terrorist groups organizing terrorist attacks against Israelis. This issue became particularly relevant after the terrorist attack at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.
This excessive concentration on the fight against terrorism has led to the fact that the Israeli government was unprepared for the beginning of the October war with the coalition of Arab countries in 1973. Although Israel eventually won, it cost him quite a lot of casualties. This failure was the main reason for the change of head of the Mossad. The new director was appointed Yitzhak Hofi. He paid particular attention to deterring the Iraqi nuclear program, which he successfully dealt with. But Hofi had a rather heavy disposition, and in 1982 he resigned.
Over the next two decades, the leaders of the Mossad were appointed Naum Admoni, Shabtai Shavit, Dani Yatom, Efraim Halevi. The most successful operation of this period was the elimination in 1988 of one of the leaders of Fatah Abu Jihad. But this period of time also accounted for a significant number of failures. This somewhat undermined the previously almost impeccable reputation of the Mossad.
The modern period in the activities of "Mossad"
In 2002, Meir Dogan became the head of the Mossad. He conducted a new reform of the organization. According to him, Mossad was supposed to carry out specific operations aimed at combating terrorism, and not duplicate the functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under the leadership of Dogan, a number of successful operations were carried out to destroy the heads of terrorist organizations.
In 2011, Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to replace the head of the Mossad. The new head of the organization was Tamir Pardo. However, he continues to lead the Mossad along the lines laid by his predecessor, although significant personnel shifts occurred during the leadership of Pardo.
The name and motto of "Mossad"
Many are interested in the question of why Israeli intelligence is called the Mossad. This is not an abbreviation, but an abbreviation of the full name, which in Hebrew sounds like ha-Mossad le-modiin u-l-tafkidim meyuhadim, which translates as "Office of Intelligence and Special Tasks." Thus, the literal translation of the word "Mossad" - "Department."
The motto of the Israeli intelligence "Mossad" is a quote from one of the parables of the Book of Solomonova: "With a lack of care, the people fall, and with many advisers they prosper." This motto means that informing is the key to the successful existence of the state. He is another attempt to emphasize the heredity of the modern state of Israel with the ancient kingdom of Judah.
Tasks and structure of the Mossad organization
The main tasks of the Mossad are to collect information abroad using an agent network, analyze the data collected and conduct special operations abroad.
The head of the Mossad organization is the director, to whom the heads of ten departments directly managing the main lines of activity of this special service are directly subordinate.
It should be noted that, despite the specifics of its activities, Mossad is a state civil organization, and not a military structure. Therefore, in this intelligence service there are no military ranks. However, it should be said that a significant number of people, both from the senior management and from ordinary members of the Mossad, have extensive army experience.
Famous operations
The organization "Mossad" in the history of its existence has carried out a huge number of various special operations.
The first operation to gain worldwide fame was the abduction in 1960 of a Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina, accused of genocide of Jews during the Second World War. The offender was soon convicted in Israel and sentenced to death. Mossad has officially confirmed its leadership in the capture process.
Resonance was the operation of 1962-1963, "Damocles Sword", the essence of which was the physical elimination of scientists involved in the development of ballistic missiles for Egypt.
After the terrorist attack at the Olympics in Munich from 1972 to 1992, Mossad held a number of events, code-named "God's Wrath", aimed at eliminating the members of the Black September terrorist organization involved in the deaths of Israeli athletes.
In 1973, a brilliant operation “Spring of Youth” was carried out in Lebanon in Beirut, during which about fifty representatives of various Arab extremist organizations were destroyed at the PLO headquarters. Losses among the Israeli commandos themselves amounted to only two people.
The latest major operation, which is associated with the Mossad, is the elimination in 2010 in the UAE of one of the leaders of the extremist group Hamas Mahmoud al-Mambhuha. True, there was no official confirmation of the involvement of the Israeli secret services in this event.
Other intelligence organizations
But Mossad is still not the only organization in Israel that is engaged in intelligence activities. As mentioned above, in 1948, the Shabak special service was founded, whose main task is counterintelligence and guaranteeing the internal security of Israel. This organization exists in our time.
In addition, another intelligence organization, which was formed in the same 1948, has survived to this day. This is AMAN, whose goal is military intelligence. Thus, Mossad, Shabak and AMAN are the three largest intelligence agencies in Israel.
Special service "Nativ"
Between 1937 and 1939, a special service was created under the consonant name "Mossad le Alia Bet." Its main goal was to facilitate the illegal immigration of representatives of the Jewish nation into Palestine, which at that time, according to the mandate of the League of Nations, was administered by the British administration.
After the formation of the state of Israel, Mossad Le Alia Bet in 1951 was dissolved and transformed into a new organization, called the Nativ. She performed quite specific tasks. Israeli intelligence "Nativ" specialized in ensuring the right to repatriate Jews from the USSR, whose immigration to Israel was much more difficult. The fulfillment of this mission was carried out including through political pressure on the leadership of the Union. The tasks of the special services ”“ Nativ ”also included maintaining relations with representatives of the Jewish people who remained in the USSR and in other states of the Soviet bloc.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the communist regime, the need for such an organization virtually disappeared. "Nativ" has lost the status of special services and is currently engaged merely in maintaining ties with Jews in the CIS and the Baltic states. Its financing has been significantly reduced. Some experts even state the need for the complete liquidation of this organization due to its uselessness.
Resonance statements
Although, as mentioned above, “Nativ”, as an intelligence service, has lost its significance after the collapse of the USSR, but nonetheless, those who previously worked in it enjoy great authority. Ex-head of Israeli intelligence Yakov Kedmi (nee Yakov Kazakov) is precisely such a person. From 1992 to 1999, he served as the head of the Nativ organization. He is currently retired, but acts as a political expert on Israeli television.
The greatest resonance has the statements of this man, which Israeli intelligence can be proud of, about Putin and Poroshenko. Back in the spring of 2014, Kedmi announced that the first would allegedly do anything to be able to control Ukraine, since Ukraine’s entry into NATO directly threatens Russia's security. A little later, the former head of intelligence sharply criticized his government for allowing Poroshenko to visit Israel. About the president of Ukraine, his statements were even sharper. Kedmi accuses Petro Poroshenko of the fact that he is promoting the construction of Stepan Bandera - a man associated with the massacres of Jews - to the rank of national hero of Ukraine.
