Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

COMMITTEE OF SEVEN.In 1960 the Israeli government decided

once again to set up a committee—this time of seven ministers,

headed by Pinchas Rosen, the minister of justice—to look into the

circumstances of the Bad Business, the collapse of the Jewish espi-

onage network in Egypt in 1954. This committee inspected docu-

ments but did not call witnesses. On 21 December 1960 it published

its unanimous conclusion that Pinhas Lavondid not give the order

to carry out the 1954 operation. Their report, endorsed by the gov-

ernment and the Knesset, sparked another storm. Prime Minister

David Ben-Gurion expressed his sharp opposition to the committee’s

conclusions, attacked Lavon and the committee members, and

termed the manner of its investigation a travesty of justice directed

against the army officer involved in the affair. He demanded that the

matter be reviewed by a body certified to summon and to question

witnesses, such as a court. See also AMIAD COMMISSION; CO-

HEN COMMISSION; ULSHAN-DORI COMMISSION.

COMMITTEE X.In retaliation for the Munich massacreof Israeli

athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, Prime Minister Golda Meir’s

government conducted a massive air bombardment of terroristbases

in Lebanon. But the feeling was that this action was inadequate. The

newly appointed adviser to the prime minister on counterterrorism,

Aharon Yariv, and the director of the Mossad, Zvi Zamir, per-

suaded the Israeli cabinet to form a top secret counterterrorist com-

mittee within the Israeli cabinet. This led to the prime minister’s cre-

ation of Committee X, which in practice acted as a kind of court

handing down death sentences to terrorists. The members of the com-

mittee were Prime Minister Golda Meir, Defense Minister Moshe

Dayan, Foreign Minister Yigal Alon, and Yisrael Galili, then minister

without a portfolio but the prime mover of the committee’s actions.

Apart from the government ministers, another member was Yariv, the

prime minister’s intelligence adviser; later he was replaced by Re-

havam Ze’evi. Zamir, acting as a kind of prosecutor, always appeared

before the committee to furnish evidence. No one stood before the

committee in the role of counsel for the defense. Committee X re-

solved to kill the Palestinian terrorists who were directly or indirectly

involved in the planning, assisting, or executing of the attack on the

Israeli athletes. It listed 35 main assassination targets, including other

COMMITTEE X•69

06-102 (02) A-G.qxd 3/24/06 7:23 AM Page 69