the Department of Intelligence to Directorate of Intelligence in the Gen-
eral Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), raising its status in the IDF
hierarchy.1954 2 July: Members of a Jewish espionage network in Egypt begin
the Susannah Operation by planting small firebombs in several mail-
boxes in Alexandria. A series of sabotage acts, directed primarily against
Western embassies and other institutions, is planned, attempting to pre-
vent the British evacuation from Egypt. 14 July:In its second action, the
network in Egypt firebombs the American libraries in Cairo and Alexan-
dria. 23 July:After the third action of the network in Egypt, its members
are caught. 26 July:First publication on the capture of the Susannah net-
work in the Arabic press. Toward the end of the month, a furor erupts in
Israel as to who gave the order to set up the network in Egypt in the so-
called Affair, also known as Bad Business. 11 December: The trial of the
Jewish espionage network members begins in an Egyptian court.1955 The Misgeret (Framework), a subunit of the Mossad, is estab-
lished as a special force in North Africa to protect Jewish populations,
mainly in Algeria but also in Tunisia. Harkabi, promoted to major gen-
eral, becomes director of Military Intelligence (DMI); he serves in this
position until 1959.January: The verdict on the Jewish espionage net-
work is handed down by the Egyptian court. Penalties ranged from
seven years imprisonment to execution. Dr. Moshe Marzouk and
Shmuel Becor Azzar, members of the network, are sentenced to death
and hanged. 27 September: Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser
announces a new arms deal between Egypt and Czechoslovakia. This
deal and the concern it creates contribute to the formation of a research
department in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with two sections: tech-
nical and international.1956 February: Israel succeeds in obtaining Nikita Khrushchev’s
speech denouncing the policies of his late predecessor, Josef Stalin.
Khrushchev condemns Stalin’s personality cult and apparent support for
the concept of individuality. Israel delivers Khrushchev’s speech to the
United States, which is now able to reveal Stalin’s true face. Israel’s ac-
quisition of the speech sends the Mossad’s reputation soaring worldwide,
especially in the United States. 11 July: Colonel Mustafa Hafez, head of
Egyptian intelligence in the Gaza Strip and in charge of activating killer
and sabotage squads of fedayeenin the 1950s, is assassinated by IsraeliCHRONOLOGY• xxiii06-102 (01) FM.qxd 3/24/06 7:22 AM Page xxiii