where he even underwent a very painful operation to reverse his cir-
cumcision. In December 1953 Elad, under the assumed name Paul
Frank, a supposedly wealthy German businessman representing the
dummy import-export company Inverko, arrived in Cairo. He was
quickly accepted by and merged into the flourishing expatriate Ger-
man community in Egypt.
There Elad contacted all the members of the Jewish espionage net-
work, who knew him only by his code name “Robert.” He soon got to
know all of them by name and even visited at their homes. He com-
manded the sabotage actions they carried out. The mission, which soon
failed, came to be known in Israel as the Bad Business. All the mem-
bers of the Jewish network were caught by the Egyptians, but Elad
made his escape with great ease, even haggling with Egyptian customs
officials over the weight of his car on his departure and taking time to
visit a repair shop to have the vehicle’s fender removed to make it
lighter. In Egypt he was sentenced to death in absentia.
The Director of the Mossad, Isser Harel, suspected Elad of being
a double agent and betraying the Jewish network, conveying its mem-
bers’ names to the Egyptian authorities—a suspicion that ultimately
proved well founded. When exactly he betrayed the Jewish spy net-
work and when exactly he became a double agent are still open ques-
tions whose answers will probably never be known.
Nevertheless, after the Bad Business, Elad was stationed by director
of Military Intelligence(DMI), Colonel Binyamin Gibli, in West Ger-
many, despite Harel’s suspicion that he was a traitor. Major General
Yehoshafat Harkabi, who replaced Gibli as DMI, continued to believe
in Elad’s loyalty. In Germany, Elad continued to use the name Paul
Frank despite the fact that “Paul Frank” had been sentenced to death in
Egypt. He likewise continued to represent Inverko, albeit now in West
Germany. His actual job was to recruit operatives and agents in Europe
and set up other dummy companies, all for Israeli intelligence. The
chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Moshe Dayan, even
granted him the rank of captain in the IDF. Without informing Harkabi,
Harel sent a Mossad agent, David (Dave) Kimche, to Europe to find
evidence against Elad, and it was found. In West Germany, Kimche
found out from his sources, with proof, that in Egypt Elad had been in
touch with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Osman Nuri. Elad had88 • ELAD, AVRAHAM06-102 (02) A-G.qxd 3/24/06 7:23 AM Page 88