Mossad
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- For the Haganah branch responsible for clandestine Jewish immigration into the British Mandate of Palestine, see Mossad Le'aliyah Bet
[Ha-Mōśād le-Mōdī`īn ū-le-Tafqīdīm Meyūhadīm] (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) is an Israeli intelligence agency, often referred to as Mossad (in English: Institution). It is responsible for intelligence collection, counter-terrorism, and covert action, including paramilitary activities. It is one of the three main Intelligence Community entities in Israel, alongside Aman (military intelligence) and Shabak (internal security). Its function is similar to the United States' CIA and the UK's MI6.
History
The 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 wanted 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 offices "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 1,200. Its motto is be-'éyn tahbūlōt yīpōl `ām; ū-teshū`āh be-rōv yo'éts (Hebrew: , "Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." - Proverbs XI, 14) [link]High profile operations
Its many successes in serving Israel's security interests have earned Mossad a reputation for being extremely effective as an intelligence agency. Controversy exists over a few cases where it has employed the tactics of kidnapping and assassination.Successful operations
- Location and capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. In 1960, Mossad discovered that Eichmann was in Argentina and through surveillance, they confirmed that he had been living there under the name of Ricardo Klement. The Israeli government approved an operation to capture Eichmann and bring him to Jerusalem for trial as a war criminal. He was captured by a team of Mossad agents on May 11, 1960, as part of a covert operation.
- Assisting in the defection and rescuing the family of Munir Redfa, an Iraqi pilot who defected and flew his MiG 21 to Israel.
- Provided key intelligence on the Egyptian Air Force for Operation Focus, the opening airstrike of the Six-Day War.
- Assassination of those responsible for the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games, called "Operation Wrath of God".
- Intelligence and operational assistance in 1973 Operation Spring of Youth.
- Providing intelligence for Israeli military operations, thousands of miles away from Israel, for instance, for Operation Entebbe in 1976.
- Assisting in Operation Moses, the immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
- Providing highly sensitive information about Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in 1981.
- Abduction of Mordechai Vanunu in Italy 1986.[link]
- The alleged assassination of Canadian scientist Gerald Bull, developer of the Iraqi supergun. While he was working on the Scud project, someone started "warning" him to stop working on the missiles. Over a period of a few months his apartment was broken into several times but nothing was stolen. He nevertheless continued to work on the project, and in March 1990 he was shot five times in the back of the neck while opening his door. The most common theory is that Mossad was responsible, and Mossad representatives have uncharacteristically all but claimed responsibility for his murder. Others, including Bull's son, believe that the Mossad is taking credit for an act they did not commit to scare off others who may try to help enemy regimes. The alternative theory is that Bull was killed by the CIA. Iraq and Iran are also candidates for suspicion.[Dr. Gerald Bull: Scientist, Weapons Maker, Dreamer] at CBC.ca
- The acquisition of French Mirage III plans leading to the development of the Kfir.
- The acquisition of French patrol boats which were paid for by the Israeli government, but were stopped by an arms embargo.
Failed operations
In July 1973, Ahmed Bouchiki, an innocent Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, was killed while walking with his pregnant wife. He had been mistaken for Ali Hassan Salameh, one of the leaders of Black September, the Palestinian group responsible for the Munich massacre, who had been given shelter in Norway. The Mossad agents had used fake Canadian passports, which angered the Canadian government. Six Mossad agents were arrested, and the incident became known as the Lillehammer affair.In 1981, fake British passports were discovered in a grocery bag in London, leading to a diplomatic row with Israel over Mossad involvement in an attempt to infiltrate China.
In 1997, two Mossad agents were caught in Jordan, which had signed a peace treaty with Israel, on a mission to assassinate Sheikh Khaled Mashal, a leader of Hamas, by injecting him with poison at a pro-Hamas rally in Amman. Again, they were using fake Canadian passports. This led to a diplomatic row with Canada and Jordan, and Israel was forced to provide the poison antidote and release around 70 Palestinian prisoners, in particular the Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin — who played a prominent role in encouraging attacks on Israeli civilians (and soldiers) during the al-Aqsa intifada — in exchange for the Mossad agents, who would otherwise have faced the death penalty for attempted murder. In March of 2004, seven years after he was released, Yassin was killed in an Israeli helicopter airstrike.
In July 2004, New Zealand imposed diplomatic sanctions on Israel over an incident in which two Israelis, Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara, who were allegedly working for Mossad, attempted to obtain New Zealand passports fraudulently. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom later apologized to New Zealand for their actions. New Zealand cancelled several other passports believed to have been obtained by Israeli agents. [link] Both Kelman and Cara served half of their six month sentences and upon release were deported to Israel. Two others, an Israeli, Ze'ev Barkan, and a New Zealander, David Reznick, are believed to have been the third and fourth men involved in the passport affair but managed to leave New Zealand before being traced.
Departments and Personnel
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 Psichologit) 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.