Mossad

Mossad Logo

The Mossad (The Institute) is Israel's intelligence agency. Their motto is Proverbs 11:14- "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure."

Functions

According to the official Israeli Secret Intelligence Service web site, the Mossad carries out operations in many fields including:

• Covert intelligence gathering beyond Israel’s borders.
• Preventing the development and procurement of non-conventional weapons by hostile countries.
• Preventing terrorist acts against Israeli targets abroad.
• Developing and maintaining special diplomatic and other covert relations.
• Bringing Jews home from countries where official Aliya agencies are not allowed to operate.
• Producing strategic, political and operational intelligence.
• Planning and carrying out special operations beyond Israel’s borders.

History

Mossad was formed on 13 December 1949 by Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.

Directors

The following is a list of Mossad Directors:

• Reuven Shiloah, 1951-1952
• Isser Harel, 1952-1963
• Meir Amit, 1963-1968
• Zvi Zamir, 1968-1974
• Yitzhak Hofi, 1974-1982
• Nahum Admoni, 1982-1989
• Shabtai Shavit, 1989-1996
• Danny Yatom, 1996-1998
• Ephraim Halevy, 1998-2002
• Meir Dagan, 2002-Present

Operation Susannah

Operation Susannah was a false flag operation conducted in 1954 by Israeli operatives in Egypt against American and British targets, designed to appear as though Egyptian Arabs had carried out the attacks. Israeli agents had infiltrated Egyptian society and recruited Egyptian-born Jews to carry out the operation. The U.S. Information Agency libraries in Alexandria and Cairo as well as a British-owned theater were bombed on July 14, 1954. No injuries or casualties occurred during the bombings, except to one of the operatives, when his bomb exploded prematurely. Egyptian authorities uncovered the operation, initially not realizing it was an Israeli operation. After the Israeli spy ring was broken up, trials followed. Two suspects were acquitted, while two culprits were hanged, and several others were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. One or two other operatives committed suicide.

Israeli defense minister Pinhas Lavon was forced to resign in 1955. Consequently, the aftermath of Operation Susannah is often called The Levon Affair. Israel

The operation was named after the fiance of one of the Israeli commanders, Shoshana, and was triggered when the distinctly american song Oh Susannah was played on an Israeli radio station.

On March 30, 2005 Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya’alon presented official citations to the three surviving agents and to representatives of those deceased, saying (quoted in the Jerusalem Post news article referenced below): “This is historic justice for those who were sent on a mission on behalf of the state and became the victims of a complex political affair.”

Sources

• ARIW, Ayn Rand Institute Watch (2007), The Lavon Affair, ARI Watch Retrieved on 05-18-2007
• Cashman, Greer Fay (2005-03-31), Egyptian-Jewish spy ring gets belated salute, The Jerusalem Post Article reproduced here. Retrieved on 05-18-2007
• Mossad, Israeli Secret Intelligence Service (2007), About Us, Israeli Secret Intelligence Service Retrieved on 05-18-2007
• Ostrovsky, Victor & Claire Hoy (2002), By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer, Wilshire Press Inc., ISBN 978-0971759503
• Security, Global (2005), Mossad: The Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks, GlobalSecurity.org Retrieved on 05-18-2007
• WRH, What Really Happened (2007), The Lavon Affair: Is History Repeating Itself?, What Really Happened Retrieved on 05-18-2007

Further reading

• Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy, By Way of Deception, St Martin's Press, New York 1990.