In today’s article, we will learn all about Mossad. Mossad birth to now.
Origins and Founding of Mossad
Mossad was founded in 1949, the year after David Ben Gurion proclaimed establishing the state of Israel. After the horrors of the Holocaust, a UN resolution in 1947 proposed the partition of Palestine, allocating 56% of the land to the Jewish state, which made up about one-third of the total population. Six Arab states declared war on Israel, vowing to crush the Jewish state. Israel won the war. In the aftermath, Jordan occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip, and Israel ended up with 78% of the land.
Prime Minister Ben-Gurion understood that the key to the survival of Israel lay in robust intelligence capabilities. Israel has three intelligence agencies. Aman is responsible for military intelligence, gathering information about enemy armies and other military threats. Shin Bet handles internal security, focusing on preventing terrorism and espionage within Israel. Mossad conducts foreign intelligence operations, specializing in espionage, covert missions, and counter-terrorism outside Israel.
Recruitment and Operations of Mossad
Recruiters look for candidates with specific qualities: reliability, exceptional intelligence, and the ability to become somebody else entirely. It is believed that only 1 in 1,000 candidates were cut. Mossad reportedly employs about 7,000 people globally, making it one of the world’s largest espionage agencies.
High-Profile Operations: Adolf Eichman
David Ben-Gurion never uttered the names of Israel’s intelligence agencies. He never acknowledged that they even existed. They were shrouded in secrecy. That is, until the case of Adolf Eichmann. One of the architects of the Holocaust, Eichmann was captured by Mossad agents in Buenos Aires in 1961, where he had been living under the alias Ricardo Klement.
Mossad captured him and brought him to Israel to stand trial, where he was sentenced to death. The operation put Mossad on the map and made headlines around the world, sending a clear message that Israeli agents could strike anywhere.
Sabotaging Egypt’s Missile Program
But targeting Nazi officials was not Mossad’s main mission. Its main focus was on safeguarding the state of Israel against its enemies. In the summer of 1962, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser proudly declared that his rockets were capable of reaching Israel. The agent Mossad planted in Cairo, Wolfgang Lotz, who posed as a German horse breeder, had failed to report the major progress in Egypt’s missile program. Nasser’s missile program relied heavily on expertise from former Nazi scientists, like Heinz Krug, who managed logistics.
To derail the program, Mossad targeted key figures with parcel bombs that killed several Egyptian workers, but none of the major players. When Krug returned to Munich, Mossad agents kidnapped him and took him to Israel to be interrogated. He was never seen alive again. But Egypt’s missile program was still very much alive.
So, in May 1964, Mossad took an unconventional approach to sabotage the program by making a deal with former SS officer Otto Skorzeny. He was a prominent Nazi who had direct access to leading figures in Egypt’s rocket program. Mossad promised protection in exchange for his cooperation. Skorzeny used his connections to get a series of German scientists to go from Egypt. Due to the success of this tactic, Egypt’s missile program was discontinued.
Operation Diamond and the MiG-21
However, Egypt soon found a new source of support, as Soviet weapons began flowing into neighboring Arab countries during the Cold War, to counter Western influence in the region. The delivery of the modern Soviet combat jet, the MiG-21, to Arab states alarmed Israel. Mossad devised a plan to find an Arab pilot willing to defect and fly one of the jets to them.
They persuaded Munir Redfa, an Assyrian Christian in the Iraqi Air Force who faced discrimination, to defect by offering him money and protection. Redfa agreed on one condition: He wanted his entire extended family – 21 people – to be smuggled out of Iraq. Israel agreed, and Operation Diamond successfully brought a MiG-21 into Western hands.
The Six-Day War and Its Consequences
Leveraging its superior intelligence, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria on June 5, 1967, in response to mobilization by its enemies. Israeli forces defeated the combined Arab armies in six days. Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria, humiliating its Arab neighbors.
Note to self: Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 as part of the peace treaty with Egypt. By the end of the Six-Day War, Israel controlled four times as much land as it did in 1948.
The Rise of the PLO and Fatah
Thousands of refugees left their homes in the wake of the Six-Day War to seek shelter in the Arab-held lands east of the river. For many of them, Jordan had nothing to offer but the squalor and the misery of the refugee camps. Young Palestinians growing up in refugee camps became increasingly radicalized, a development Mossad failed to anticipate.
The anger led to the rise of militant groups such as Fatah, which eventually became the dominant faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Yasser Arafat, the man behind Fatah, promised to exterminate Israel. Mossad made numerous attempts to kill Arafat, but he was able to escape capture by hiding in Arab nations that were nearby.
Munich Olympic Games and Black September
Arafat became the chairman of the PLO in 1969 and focused on radicalizing Palestinians in exile in Europe, establishing networks in universities and working-class neighborhoods. The PLO staged multiple terror operations in Europe and Israel during the 1960s and 1970s to raise awareness of the Palestinian cause, including the horrific attack on Israeli sportsmen during the Munich Olympic Games in 1972.
On September 5, 1972, eight men with the Black September organization, an offshoot of Fatah, infiltrated the Olympic Village and took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. The terrorists demanded the release of over 200 prisoners held in Israeli jails. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir rejected the demands and instead offered to help Germany rescue the hostages. However, Germany declined, insisting on handling the situation themselves. Mossad’s hands were often tied as European intelligence services preferred to remain neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mossad’s Retaliation Campaign
The attackers demanded to be flown to a country favorable to the Arab world, and the German authorities feigned agreement. At the Fürstenfeldbruck airbase, a rescue operation was to be staged. But because the German police lacked sniper training and were using antiquated weapons—old rifles without scopes—it all went wrong.
The eleven Israeli athletes were all slain. Mossad responded by vowing to find and destroy those in charge. Mossad agents found and murdered Palestinians in Rome, Paris, Beirut, Athens, and Cyprus in less than a year.
However, it sometimes committed errors, such as when Mossad agents assassinated a Moroccan waiter in Norway by incorrectly believing him to be Ali Hassan Salameh, the purported mastermind of the Munich massacre. Years later, Salameh was killed by a car bomb planted by Mossad.
Mossad’s strategy extended beyond retaliation and included fostering regional alliances, exemplified by the adage, “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” These connections proved invaluable when Israelis were in danger far from home.
Operation Entebbe: A Daring Rescue
On June 27, 1976, a splinter group of the PLO hijacked an Air France jet with 260 people on board and rerouted it to Uganda. The hijackers released passengers who didn’t appear to be Jewish but continued to hold 106 others, including crew members, demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Although Uganda’s dictator, Idi Amin, was no longer Israel’s ally, Uganda had in the past provided Israel with critical intelligence on the airport’s facilities. An Israeli company had built the airport, giving Israel access to detailed blueprints. A Mossad agent posing as an amateur pilot had recently taken aerial photographs of the airport.
Operation Entebbe, led by Jonathan Netanyahu, the brother of future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was an outrageously bold operation. The rescue team flew in a plane camouflaged to look like a commercial aircraft to avoid detection. The aircraft refueled in Kenya, another crucial ally, whose support was vital for the mission’s success.
During the raid, Jonathan Netanyahu was killed, along with 45 Ugandan soldiers and three hostages who died in the crossfire. One rescued hostage, Dora Bloch, who was later hospitalized after choking on a chicken bone, was shot dead on Idi Amin’s orders. Despite the losses, the operation was a success, underscoring Mossad’s ability to leverage its intelligence networks and alliances to execute daring operations.
Intelligence Failures: The Yom Kippur War
But Mossad’s reputation would soon take a hit. In 1970, Egypt saw a new president come into power, Anwar Sadat. Sadat publicly threatened to reclaim the Sinai Peninsula, but Israel didn’t take him seriously. Mossad’s informant, Ashraf Marwan, who was married to the daughter of Egypt’s former president Nasser, had not alerted them to the threat. Some believe Marwan became an informant because of the disrespect he felt from Nasser, who allegedly disapproved of the marriage.
In the fall of 1973, Israel’s military intelligence observed Egyptian and Syrian troop movements along the borders. Still, it dismissed them as routine, believing Marwan would have warned them if an attack were imminent. When Marwan did send an urgent message warning that Egypt planned to attack within hours on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Mossad was skeptical.
Israel’s hesitation proved costly. Although Israel won the Yom Kippur War, it suffered massive losses. Over 2,600 Israeli soldiers were killed. Marwan’s identity as a Mossad informant was exposed 30 years later. In 2007, he mysteriously fell to his death from his balcony in London.
The Camp David Accords
In the years following the war, Egypt and Israel began to mend their relationship. By negotiating peace with Israel, Egypt aimed to improve its relations with the U.S., a key ally of Israel, and break away from Soviet influence. During secret negotiations, Israel’s foreign minister Moshe Dayan made a covert trip to Morocco, where he was seen wearing dark glasses instead of his trademark black eyepatch.
Later, Anwar Sadat became the first Arab head of state to visit Israel and speak before the Knesset, Israel’s House of Representatives. U.S. President Jimmy Carter hosted the tough talks between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President al-Sadat, resulting in the Camp David Accords and the signing of a historic peace treaty on March 26, 1979. Israel agreed to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt officially recognized the State of Israel, becoming the first Arab country to do so.
The landmark agreement shocked the Arab world. Sadat’s bold move led to Egypt’s expulsion from the Arab League and, tragically, his assassination three years later. The treaty marked a pivotal moment in Middle Eastern history, showcasing Mossad’s ability to not only wage war but broker peace.
Iran: From Ally to Adversary
However, the regional landscape shifted dramatically with the advent of the Iranian Revolution. Iran had been one of Israel’s secret allies since the 1950s under the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Iran sold oil to Israel, and in return, Mossad provided internal security support and military intelligence training.
Then, in 1978, huge protests erupted, led by Islamic cleric Ayatollah Khomeini, who was in exile first in Iraq and then in Paris. The Shah, facing mounting pressure, appealed to Mossad to assassinate Khomeini, but Israel refused out of concern for regional stability.
Eventually, the revolution broke out, and Iran’s secret police lost control. The Shah fled the country, and Khomeini returned to establish a theocracy, executing military generals and solidifying his rule.
Iran, once Israel’s critical partner in the region, now become its greatest adversary. Iran openly declared its goal of annihilating Israel, which delighted the PLO under Yasser Arafat, who found common cause with the new Iranian regime in their opposition to both the U.S. and Israel.
Mossad’s Role in Lebanon
Mossad aimed to dismantle the PLO, which had established a base in Lebanon after being expelled from Jordan. Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon were increasingly infiltrating Israeli territory. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Defense Minister Ariel Sharon aimed to purge the PLO from Lebanon with a military strike. However, they needed to be able to justify invading a foreign country.
The attempted assassination of Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Shlomo Argov, by a radical Palestinian faction, provided them with an excuse, despite the PLO not being involved. Mossad allied with Lebanon’s Christian militias, which saw the PLO as a mutual enemy, though Mossad had doubts about their reliability.
On June 6, 1982, Israeli soldiers invaded Lebanon in hopes of destroying the PLO and installing a pro-Israeli regime. Two months after the invasion, the PLO retreated, and Bashir Gemayel, leader of the Christian militias, became the new president.
However, his assassination three months later plunged Lebanon back into civil war, which confirmed Mossad’s fears about the Christian militias’ reliability. The catastrophe in Lebanon forced Prime Minister Begin and Defense Minister Sharon to resign, with Mossad also facing criticism for misjudging the situation.
Rescue Operations: Ethiopian Jews
Mossad’s mission extended beyond warfare; it was committed to protecting Jewish lives wherever they were in peril. In the early 1980s, tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews were at risk of violence and hunger. Thousands had fled to refugee camps in neighboring Sudan. Mossad was tasked with bringing them to Israel.
But the operation had to be carried out in secret as Sudan’s dictator, Jaafar an-Nimeiry, needed to maintain a public stance of opposition to Israel to avoid political backlash. Mossad operatives disguised as European and American staff set up a diving resort on the Sudanese coast, where they managed it by day and smuggled Jews out by night, transporting them by boat across the Red Sea to Israel. When smuggling by boat became too risky, the refugees were secretly airlifted out of the country.
The First Intifada and Oslo Accords
New challenges soon emerged for Israel. In the late 1980s, anger in Gaza, which Israel had occupied for over 20 years, erupted into violence. This led to a mass uprising called the Intifada, which caught Mossad off guard. As the violence escalated and Israel intensified its efforts to suppress the Palestinian uprising, demands for a diplomatic solution grew louder within Israel.
In 1993, Israelis and Palestinians met on neutral ground in Oslo, Norway, to discuss a possible compromise. Israel agreed to withdraw its troops from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, transferring these territories to Palestinian self-government. Remarkably, Yasser Arafat, the head of the PLO who had earlier vowed to wipe Israel off the map, now recognized Israel’s right to exist. The peace treaty was signed in Washington, and both Israeli Prime Minister and Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.
Targeting Hamas Leadership
However, the peace process faced significant challenges. Arafat no longer spoke for all Palestinians, and the PLO struggled to maintain peace as a new radical force emerged. Founded by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin during the Intifada, Hamas remained steadfast in its goal of destroying Israel.
Israel had expected the PLO to rein in Hamas, but the PLO was slow to act, allowing Hamas to grow stronger and launch a devastating wave of suicide bombings against Israeli cities. In 1996, Israel’s new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, came to power with a mandate to pursue a policy of strength. Netanyahu instructed Mossad to target key Hamas leaders to stop the attacks.
In the summer of 1997, Mossad’s first target was Khaled Mashaal, the then chief of Hamas’ politburo in Amman, Jordan. The plan was to poison him in broad daylight to make it appear as though he died of natural causes, avoiding disrupting the good relationship between Israel and Jordan.
As Mashal walked with his children and bodyguard, two Mossad agents posing as Canadian tourists sprayed Fentanyl in his ear. However, Mashaal’s bodyguard intervened, and the Mossad agents were exposed and captured.
King Hussein of Jordan was appalled by the incident and warned that if Mashaal died, he would face a Palestinian uprising and have no choice but to execute the Israeli operatives. Israel agreed to provide the antidote to save Mashaal’s life. Khaled Mashal survived and became Hamas’ new leader.
Countering Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
Suicide attacks in Israel persisted, culminating in the second Intifada, which saw a significant rise in violence. As Israel faced ongoing attacks, a new and powerful adversary emerged. Iran was frustrated by its exclusion from Middle East peace negotiations.
It increased its aid to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and established a network among Israel’s enemies, including Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, and supported Shitte Hezbollah militia in Lebanon with arms, money, and fighters.
In 2002, Meir Dagan, the new head of Mossad, identified Iran as Israel’s main adversary. He reformed the agency with a more aggressive approach. Under Dagan’s leadership, Mossad focused on dismantling anti-Israeli terror networks and countering Iran’s nuclear program. Iran maintained its nuclear program was strictly for civilian purposes, but Israel perceived a significant threat.
Mossad analysts believed that Iran could develop nuclear weapons within a few years. Israel wasn’t going to let that happen; it was the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons and wanted to keep it that way. But Mossad ruled out an airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities as it could have drastic repercussions. Instead, it tried to cripple Iran’s nuclear program with a computer worm.
The covert operation believed to involve the CIA and Mossad, spread the Stuxnet worm to computers at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. Stuxnet targeted the centrifuges that produced enriched uranium, causing them to burn out.
The operation disrupted Iran’s nuclear program, but concerns remained, leading to this famous 2012 UN speech by Netanyahu: “Where should a red line be drawn? A red line should be drawn right here.”
In 2015, Iran signed a long-term agreement with the U.S. under the Obama administration to curb its nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. However, in 2018, Mossad obtained documents that allegedly showed Iran was still pursuing its nuclear program, leading President Trump to cancel the agreement.
Since World War II, Israel has reportedly been responsible for more assassinations than any other Western country, with estimates suggesting it has carried out at least 2,700 assassinations. Yet, there are limits to Israel’s intelligence gathering.
Recent Challenges: The 2023 Hamas Attack
On October 7, 2023, during a music festival in southern Israel, Hamas launched a surprise attack from the Gaza Strip, killing 364 people. Israel and Hamas engaged in intense fighting, resulting in thousands of casualties. The surprise attack represented a stunning failure of Israeli intelligence, which has been crucial to Israel’s strength and survival until now. The reasons behind the lapse will be the subject of intense scrutiny and analysis by Israel and its allies for years to come. Being chosen to be a Mossad agent is incredibly rare. But even the most skilled and resilient individuals can face moments of uncertainty and need support.
That is all about Mossad till today. Thank you.