Difference between revisions of "Mossad"

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Israeli defense minister Pinhas Lavon was forced to resign in 1955.  Consequently, the aftermath of Operation Susannah is often called ''The Levon Affair''.
 
Israeli defense minister Pinhas Lavon was forced to resign in 1955.  Consequently, the aftermath of Operation Susannah is often called ''The Levon Affair''.
  
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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.
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The operation was named after the fiancé 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 [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]], Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya’alon presented official citations to the three surviving agents and to representatives of those deceased, saying: "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."<ref>{{hnb|Cashman|2005}}</ref>
 
On March 30, 2005 [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]], Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya’alon presented official citations to the three surviving agents and to representatives of those deceased, saying: "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."<ref>{{hnb|Cashman|2005}}</ref>

Revision as of 20:37, June 23, 2007

Mossad Logo

The Mossad (The Institute) is Israel's intelligence agency, with headquarters in Tel Aviv. Their motto is Proverbs 11:14- "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure."[1]

Functions

According to the official Israeli Secret Intelligence Service web site, the Mossad carries out operations in many fields including:[2]

  • 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

Trial in absentia

In 1991 the publication of a book entitled By Way of Deception by former Mossad operative Victor Ostrovsky created quite a stir in discussing some of the operations of the Israeli government and Mossad. Ostovsky told of the Israeli Cabinet’s use of trial in absentia for enemies of the Jewish people. While trial in absentia is not recognized in Anglo-American jurisprudence, it has been used in the Soviet Union and other countries formerly referred to as the Eastern bloc. The fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of the accused to face their accusers, this provision was waived however during the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal [3] in the case of Martin Bormann, [4] Hitler’s chief adjutant. Bormann was indicted, found guilty, and sentenced to death in absentia.

Ostrovsky describes how the government of Israel has assumed the responsibility for defending Jews worldwide against the enemies of the Jewish people. Ostrovsky declares the Israeli Cabinet will sit as a jury of sorts and hear cases, the Attorney General functioning as the prosecutor. A “public defender” of sorts is appointed to argue the Defendant’s case in absentia when an individual may be accused of committing crimes against the Jewish people. The most famous high profile case is Adolf Eichmann, whose kidnapping from Argentina created an international controversy in 1963; a citizen of one country, had been kidnapped for committing crimes in another country, to stand trial in a third country, which did not exist at the time the crimes occurred. [5]

During the secret cabinet proceedings, evidence is presented by the prosecution, the appointed defense counsel makes a defense, and the Cabinet as whole votes upon guilt or innocence. A second vote then occurs on whether to dispatch Mossad to apprehend the individual to stand public trial in Israel, as was the case with Eichmann, or to pass the death sentence. If the death sentence is passed, then the Israeli Prime Minister excising sovereignty must sign a death warrant ordering Mossad to do the execution, as is alleged to be the cases with Gerald Bull and Robert Maxwell.

The contrast here with American law is (1) the President has sole power under law through issuance of a Presidential Finding to order assassinations, whereas in Israel it is a collective decision; (2) double jeopardy clause in cases where public trial is held; and (3) rights of the accused to face their accusers.

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.

The operation was named after the fiancé 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 IDF, Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Moshe Ya’alon presented official citations to the three surviving agents and to representatives of those deceased, saying: "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."[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mossad 2007
  2. ↑ Mossad 2007
  3. ↑ The Prosecution of International Crimes: Prospects and Pitfalls, Justice Louise Arbour, Presentation given at the Holocaust Memorial Lecturer, Washington University on 28 October 1998. Justice Arbour was appointed the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda by the United Nations Security Council in 1996. Justice Arbour served during a leave-of-absence from her position as a Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeals.
  4. ↑ German Nazi Party of World War II, Bormann Retrieved from the Killeen Harker Heights Connections collection, 05/26/07.
  5. ↑ Simon Wiesenthal, The Murderers Among Us, Paris: Opera Mundi, 1967.
  6. ↑ Cashman 2005

Sources

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