Good intelligence services have always been the key to stability in the state. One of the most authoritative organizations is Israeli intelligence. The events that unfolded around the very existence of the State of Israel forced him to create a powerful agent network. Let's find out what is the name of Israeli intelligence, consider its history and tasks set before it.
The background of 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 "Shai". She also recruited agents among the Arabs.
Already after Israel gained statehood in 1948, such special-purpose organizations 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 -Political management.
However, the organization of all these departments left much to be desired. In addition, they competed with each other, often acting inconsistently, which harmed the state. Then the Israeli government began to think about creating a unified intelligence service on the American model.
Rise of the Mossad
Modern Israeli intelligence is called Mossad. The above circumstances were the reason for 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 Shiloah, nicknamed Mr. Intelligence, who directly reported to Ben-Gurion.
First years of existence
Of course, the Israeli intelligence "Mossad" did not immediately acquire world authority, it did not immediately succeed. Only years have been able to turn this organization into a well-functioning mechanism. Initially, the Mossad did not even have its own operational service, and therefore, until 1957, it was necessary to attract agents from other Israeli special services.
In 1952, Reuven Shiloah, realizing that the task he had been given was beyond his strength, resigned. The Israeli intelligence service received a new head - Isser Harel. Moreover, he supervisedas well as other special purpose organizations. It is he who actually has the merit of creating a highly effective intelligence structure from the Mossad. It is not for nothing that 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 the intelligence services with all responsibility. It is to him that Israeli intelligence owes its formation in the first place. The name of the period when Harel was at the helm of the special services sounds like the era of Memune.
Reform period
Modern Israeli intelligence was created by Isser Harel, but in the early 60s of the last century he had a serious conflict with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who was nicknamed the Old Man behind his back in the special services. As a result of this conflict, Memuneh resigned. The new head 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 required reforms in it. In particular, one of the most important tasks was the introduction of computerization and optimization of the Mossad personnel. These issues were to be solved by Meir Amit, and he did an excellent job with the 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 Israelithe government knew all the necessary information about the enemy, and, as a result, it relatively easily defeated the Arab coalition, which outnumbered the Israeli armed forces.
But absolutely everything cannot go smoothly, 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-Barka was kidnapped and killed in Paris by the Mossad. This event provoked the wrath of French President Charles de Gaulle. This scandal served as a formal pretext for Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol to fire Meir Amit in 1968. Although, in fact, the real reason was Eshkol's desire to see a person at the helm of the special services whom he could control.
Further history of the Mossad
Zvi Zamir became the new head of the Mossad. If earlier the activities of Israel's intelligence agencies were directed primarily against states that posed a military threat to it, now Israeli intelligence has concentrated on combating terrorist groups that organize terrorist attacks against Israelis. This issue gained particular relevance after the terrorist attack at the Olympics in Munich in 1972.
This excessive concentration on the fight against terrorism caused the Israeli government to be unprepared for the start of the October War with the coalition of Arab countries in 1973. Although in the end Israel won, it cost him enoughlarge losses of manpower. This failure was the main reason for the change of the head of the Mossad. Itzhak Hofi was appointed as the new director. He paid special attention to the containment of the Iraqi nuclear program, which he successfully coped with. But Hofi had a rather heavy temper, and in 1982 he resigned.
Over the next two decades, Nahum Admoni, Shabtai Shavit, Dani Yatom, Ephraim Halevi were appointed leaders of the Mossad. 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 flawless reputation of the Mossad.
Modern period in the activities of the Mossad
In 2002, Meir Dogan became the head of the Mossad. He carried out a new reform of the organization. According to him, the 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. Tamir Pardo became the new head of the organization. However, he continues to lead the "Mossad" in line with his predecessor, although during the leadership of Pardo there have been significant personnel changes.
Mossad name and motto
Many are interested in the question of why the Israeli intelligence service is called "Mossad". This isnot an abbreviation, but an abbreviation of the full name, which in Hebrew sounds like ha-Mosad le-modiin u-l-tafkidim meyukhadim, which translates as "Intelligence and Special Tasks Office." Thus, the literal translation of the word "Mossad" is "Department".
The motto of the Israeli intelligence "Mossad" is a quote from one of the parables of the Book of Solomon: "With a lack of care, the people fall, but with many advisers they prosper." This motto means that informing is the key to the successful existence of the state. It is another attempt to emphasize the heredity of the modern state of Israel with the ancient Kingdom of Judah.
The tasks and structure of the Mossad organization
The main tasks of the Mossad are to collect information abroad using an intelligence network, analyze the collected data and conduct special operations abroad.
The head of the Mossad organization is the director, who directly reports to the heads of ten departments in charge of the main activities of this special service.
It should be noted that, despite the specifics of its activities, Mossad is a state civil organization, not a military structure. Therefore, there are no military ranks in this intelligence service. At the same time, it should be said that a significant number of people, both from the leadership and from the rank and file members of the Mossad, have extensive military experience.
Famous Operations
The Mossad organization has carried out a huge number of different special operations throughout its history.
Firstan operation that gained worldwide notoriety was the kidnapping in 1960 of the Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann from Argentina, accused of genocide of Jews during World War II. The offender was soon convicted in Israel and sentenced to death. The Mossad has officially confirmed its leadership of the capture process.
The 1962-1963 operation "Sword of Damocles" was resonant, the essence of which was the physical elimination of scientists involved in the development of ballistic missiles for Egypt.
Following the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics from 1972 to 1992, the Mossad carried out a number of activities, code-named "The Wrath of God", the purpose of which was to eliminate members of the Black September terrorist organization involved in the death of Israeli athletes.
In 1973, in Lebanese Beirut, a brilliant operation "Spring of Youth" was carried out, during which about fifty representatives of various Arab extremist organizations were destroyed at the headquarters of the PLO. Losses among the Israeli special forces themselves amounted to only two people.
The last major operation that is associated with the Mossad is the elimination in 2010 in the UAE of one of the leaders of the Hamas extremist group, Mahmoud al-Mambhouh. True, there was no official confirmation of the involvement of the Israeli special services in this event.
Other intelligence organizations
But the Mossad is still not the only organization in Israel thatengaged in intelligence activities. As mentioned above, the Shabak intelligence service was founded in 1948, the main task of which is counterintelligence and guaranteeing Israel's internal security. This organization exists in our time.
In addition, another intelligence organization has survived to this day, which was formed in the same 1948. This is AMAN, the purpose of which is military intelligence. Thus, Mossad, Shabak and AMAN are Israel's three largest intelligence agencies.
Nativ Special Service
Between 1937 and 1939, a special service was created under the consonant name of "Mossad le-Aliya Bet". Its main goal was to facilitate the illegal immigration of representatives of the Jewish nation into the territory of Palestine, which at that time, under the mandate of the League of Nations, was controlled by the British administration.
Already after the formation of the State of Israel, Mossad le-Aliya Bet was disbanded in 1951 and transformed into a new organization called Nativ. She did a pretty specific job. Israeli intelligence "Nativ" specialized in ensuring the right of repatriation of Jews from the USSR, whose immigration to Israel was significantly hampered. The fulfillment of this mission was carried out, among other things, through political pressure on the leadership of the Union. The tasks of the special service "Nativ" also included maintaining relations with representatives of the Jewish people who remained in the USSR and other states of the Soviet bloc.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the communist regime, the actual need forsuch an organization has disappeared. "Nativ" has lost the status of a special service and is currently engaged in simply maintaining relations with the Jews of the CIS and the B altic states. Its funding has been drastically reduced. Some experts even declare the need for the complete liquidation of this organization due to its uselessness.
Resonant statements
Although, as mentioned above, Nativ, as an intelligence service, lost its significance after the collapse of the USSR, but nevertheless, the people who previously worked in it enjoy great prestige. Ex-head of Israeli intelligence, Yakov Kedmi (born Yakov Kazakov), who served as head of the Nativ organization from 1992 to 1999, is just such a person. He is currently retired but serves as a political pundit on Israeli television.
The statements of this man, who can be proud of Israeli intelligence, about Putin and Poroshenko have the greatest resonance. Back in the spring of 2014, Kedmi announced that the first would allegedly go to any lengths to be able to control Ukraine, since Ukraine's entry into NATO directly threatens Russia's security. Somewhat later, the former intelligence chief sharply criticized his government for allowing Poroshenko to visit Israel. About the President of Ukraine, his statements were even sharper. In reproach to Petro Poroshenko, Kedmi puts the fact that he contributes to the elevation of Stepan Bandera - a man associated with the massacres of Jews - to the rank of a national heroUkraine.
General characteristics of Israeli intelligence
The Israeli intelligence service has long deserved the status of one of the most professional in the world. If earlier it took British and American counterparts as a model, now representatives of other countries are taking an example from Mossad, Shabak and other specialized organizations of Israel.
The best special forces in the world, as members of Israeli intelligence are called, adequately respond to any threat to their state even when it did not have time to acquire a pronounced form. It is thanks to the intelligence services that Israel - a country that is actually in the ring of enemies - not only has not ceased to exist, but is also a hotbed of economic prosperity in the Middle East.
