Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

operatives were in the lounge of Frankfurt airport, he saw his name and

his picture in a German newspaper. He asked his men to buy all the

copies of the newspaper from all newspaper desks in the terminal.

In November 1981 Hofi was greatly displeased by the decision of

Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon to dispatch retired major general

Avraham Tamir, behind Hofi’s back, to Ndjamena, Chad. Tamir was

utilized by Sharon as a “clandestine diplomat” for special missions.

During Sharon’s incumbency, the Mossad, and Hofi as its director,

was shunted aside. This, and the Ha’aretzinterview containing Hofi’s

criticism of Israeli policy makers, signaled the end of his career as di-

rector of the Mossad. He resigned in 1982, his eight-year directorship

having been the longest since that of Isser Harel. He was succeeded

by Nahum Admoni.

In 1987 Hofi was a member of the Landau Commissionof In-

quiry into the Methods of Investigation of the ISA Regarding Hostile

Terrorist Activities. He and two other members of the commission

exposed the fact that Israeli Security Agency(ISA) operatives had

lied to the Israeli courts about their part in the Bus 300 Affair.

In 1996, when the secrecy rule regarding names of heads of the

Mossad and of the ISA was changed, Hofi, as a past director the

Mossad, protested that the names must remain classified for the per-

sons’ own safety.

HORESH, JOSHUA (1920– ).Born in Baghdad to Jewish parents, in

1938, Horesh left Iraq as Nazi influence spread across the country.

His unique background allowed him to work with British intelligence

in Egypt during World War II, where he served with distinction until

jailed in Cairo. Horesh was sentenced to deportation from Egypt to

Beirut, but he succeeded in escaping to Palestine and joined the

British forces. This time, he secretly served the Palestinian Jewish

underground, providing information on British policies toward the

Jews. After the establishment of the State of Israel, Horesh served as

an intelligence officer in the 1948–1949 War of Independence and

successfully broke Egypt’s military codes. Horesh joined the newly

established Mossadintelligence organization and worked for it pri-

marily in Turkey and Austria under an assumed Arab identity.

HOREV, YEHIEL (1944– ).Born Yehiel Zilberman in Tel Aviv, at an

early age he moved to Kibbutz Hulata in Upper Galilee. Horev was

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