Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

Binnet was a prudent intelligence officer, who ordinarily would

probably never have been caught. But the wrong decision was made

by someone in Unit 131. On one of his visits to Israel, Binnet was

asked to convey money to a Jewish espionage network in Egypt,

which was entirely separate and in no way related to Binnet’s mission.

A basic rule in espionage—not to connect two different networks—

had been broken. The result was that, after the Bad Businessin 1954

led to the arrest of members of the Jewish espionage network, this led

to the arrest of Binnet as well. In prison, suffering interrogation under

torture, Max Binnet committed suicide on 21 December 1954.

A German lawyer working secretly for MI succeeded in obtaining

Egyptian approval to remove his body from Egypt. Binnet was buried

in Rome as a Christian German. So as not to expose the Israeli con-

nection to the Jewish espionage network in Egypt, Israel did not ad-

mit that Binnet was an Israeli Jew. The Egyptian authorities believed

he was a Christian German working for Israel. Five years later his re-

mains were taken secretly to Israel for a second funeral. He was

buried secretly on a rain-drenched day in the Mount Herzl military

cemetery in Jerusalem. Until the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, Max

Binnet’s name was not even inscribed on his gravestone. Publishing

his name was strictly forbidden by the Israel censor. He was pro-

moted posthumously to lieutenant colonel.

BINYAMINI, CHAIM (1938– ).Israeli-born, Binyamini was con-

scripted to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1957 and served in the

paratroop brigade. In the 1967 Six-Day Warhe served as deputy

commander of a paratroop battalion. During the War of Attrition, he

commanded a paratroop battalion. Binyamini then served in various

command positions and, after the 1973 Yom Kippur War, joined

Military Intelligence. In 1977 he was appointed chief intelligence

officer, a position he held until 1979 when he took sabbatical leave to

study in the United States; he then retired from the IDF.

BITTON, JACQUES.“Jacques Bitton”—a very common Moroccan-

Jewish name—was the cover name assigned by Egyptian intelligence to

one of its agents planted in Israel for espionage missions. He was con-

sidered one of the best Egyptian spies. In the 1960s this man “immi-

grated” to Israel and opened a travel agency there (Egyptian intelligence

BITTON, JACQUES•47

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