Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

tiveness in many spheres, the Shai’s apparatus and personnel pro-

vided the infrastructure on which the new state’s Military Intelli-

gence and security services were founded. Isser Be’eri, the acting

head of the Shai, was appointed director of Military Intelligence,

and Harel was made director of the Israeli Security Agency. Thus,

Israel’s intelligence community did not arise out of nothing, but was

built on the foundations laid by the Shai during the few years of its

existence.

INSTITUTION FOR COORDINATION.See MOSSAD.

INTELLIGENCE SATELLITES.See OFEQ SATELLITES.

INTELLIGENCE SCHOOL.Known also as Training Base 15, the Is-

raeli intelligence school was established in the 1950s. For a certain

period, the school was not active at all due to budgetary constraints.

In the early years, training branches of the Intelligence Corps of the

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were scattered in various places in Is-

rael. A course for combat intelligence officers was held at one loca-

tion, and a course for air reconnaissance photography decipherment

at another. However, following the success of Military Intelligence

(MI) in the 1967 Six-Day War, the decision was made by MI and the

IDF General Staff to concentrate all MI training under one roof. This

was accomplished in 1969 when the training base was activated as an

autonomous unit of MI.

The director of Military Intelligence (DMI), Major General Aharon

Yariv, assigned Colonel Gideon Mahanaimi, assisted by a small staff,

to set up the Intelligence Corps training base, which was inaugurated

on 20 July 1969. Initially two courses were held: combat intelligence

and general intelligence. Auxiliary subjects studied on the courses were

Arabic and English. In addition, following the guidelines of the DMI,

trainees were instructed in Zionism and given a general background in

Judaism. The establishment of the intelligence school paved the way

for the preparation of an intelligence course curriculum, with determi-

nation of the priority of specific courses. Colonel Mahanaimi ended his

position of commander of the school in August 1972. He won the

praise of the DMI for building the school from scratch.

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