Israeli Security Forces - Mossad
Ha-Mossad le-Modi'in
ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים,
"Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks") is an Israeli
intelligence agency, commonly referred to as Mossad. It is responsible
for intelligence collection, covert action (including paramilitary
activities and assassinations) and counter-terrorism. Its focus is on
Arab nations and organizations throughout the world.
Introduction
Mossad is one of the world's most well-known intelligence agencies, and
is often viewed in the same regard as the CIA and MI6. It is known for
its efficiency, and many believe it has made a large contribution to the
stability and security of Israel.
Mossad was formed in December 1949 as the "Central Institute for
Coordination", at the recommendation of Reuven Shiloah to Prime Minister
David Ben Gurion. Shiloah desired a central body to coordinate and
improve cooperation between the existing security services - the Army's
Intelligence Department (AMAN), the General Security Service (GSS or "Shabak")
and the Foreign Office's "political department". In March 1951 it was
reorganized, and made a part of the Prime Minister's Office, reporting
directly to the Prime Minister. Its current staff is estimated at
approximately 1200.
Mossad is a civilian service, and does not use military ranks, although
most of the Mossad's staff have served in the Israeli Defense Force (as
a part of Israel's compulsory draft system), and many of them are
officers.
Mossad's original motto: Betahbulot Ta'ase Lekha Milkhama (Hebrew:
בתחבולות תעשה לך מלחמה, "For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war:
and in multitude of counsellors there is safety." - Proverbs XXIV, 6)
was changed recently as part of the Mossad's public 'coming out' to
another Proverbs passage: Be-ein Tahbulot Yipol Am; Uteshua Berov Yoetz
(Hebrew: באין תחבולות יפול עם, ותשועה ברוב יועץ, "Where no counsel is,
the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." -
Proverbs XI, 14)
Its many successes in serving Israel's security interests has earned
Mossad a reputation for being extremely effective as an intelligence
agency. However, controversy exists over cases where it has employed the
tactics of kidnapping and assassination. Mossad has also been at the
forefront of several publicly embarrassing failures.
Departments
Mossad is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has eight departments:
* Collections Department is the largest, with responsibility for
espionage operations.
* Political Action and Liaison Department conducts political activities
and liaison with friendly foreign intelligence services and with nations
with which Israel does not have normal diplomatic relations.
* Special Operations Division (Metsada) conducts assassination,
sabotage, and paramilitary projects.
* LAP (Lohamah Psichlogit) Department is responsible for psychological
warfare, propaganda and deception operations.
* Research Department is responsible for intelligence synthesis.
* Technology Department is responsible for development of technologies
to support Mossad operations.
Famous Mossad operations
* Locating and arrest of Nazi Adolf Eichmann
* Assisting in the immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
* Assassination of those responsible for the Munich massacre at the 1972
Olympic Games and the Lillehammer affair.
* Kidnapping of Mordechai Vanunu in Italy
* Providing highly sensitive information about Iraq's Osiraq nuclear
reactor, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in 1981.
* Providing intelligence for Israeli military operations, thousands of
miles away from Israel, for instance, for Operation Entebbe.
* Providing intelligence for the assassination of Abu Jihad by Israeli
commandos (unverified but widely believed)
* The assassination of Gerald Bull (unverified but widely believed)
Famous Mossad debacles
In 1973, Ahmed Bouchiki, an innocent Arab waiter in Lillehammer, Norway,
was killed. He had been mistaken for Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the
leaders of Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organization which
was responsible for the Munich Massacre and had been given shelter in
Norway. The Mossad agents used fake Canadian passports, which angered
the Canadian government. This was similar to an event in 1981 where fake
British passports were discovered in a grocery bag in London, leading to
a diplomatic row with Israel over Mossad involvement with the attempt to
infiltrate China. In 1997, two Mossad agents were caught in Jordan
(which has signed a peace treaty with Israel) on a mission to
assassinate Sheikh Khaled Mashal, a leader of the Palestinian militant
group Hamas, by injecting him with poison. Again, they were using fake
Canadian passports. This led to a diplomatic row with Canada and Jordan,
and Israel was forced to release around seventy Palestinian prisoners,
in particular the militant Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin,
who played a prominent role in attacks against Israeli civilians (and
soldiers) during the current Al-Aqsa Intifada, in exchange for the
Mossad agents (who would otherwise have faced the death penalty for
attempted murder).
In July 2004, New Zealand imposed diplomatic sanctions on Israel over an
incident in which two Israelis, Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara, allegedly
working for Mossad, attempted to fraudulently obtain New Zealand
passports.[1] Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, later apologised
to New Zealand for their actions. New Zealand cancelled several other
passports believed to have been obtained by Israeli agents.[2]
Directors of Mossad
1951-1952 Reuven Shiloah
1952-1963 Isser Harel
1963-1968 Meir Amit
1968-1974 Zvi Zamir
1974-1982 Yitzhak Hofi
1982-1990 Nahum Admoni
1990-1996 Shabtai Shavit
1996-1998 Danny Yatom
1998-2003 Efraim Halevi
2003- Meir Dagan
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha-Mossad_le-Modiin_ule-Tafkidim_Meyuhadim
Back to Israeli Security Forces
|
|
