halted. The third director of the ISA, Amos Manor, ordered the de-
struction of the section’s political archive, which contained material
and information on members of political parties. Under Manor’s di-
rectorship, the ISA changed from an organization close to the ruling
party to a state body without political affiliation.
Section Twowas formed in summer 1950, after the Political De-
partment in the Foreign Ministry was disbanded and its functions
were transferred to other intelligence agencies in Israel. This section
dealt with counterespionage (espionage obstruction), and it consisted
of departments for obstruction of Soviet espionage; obstruction of
Communist espionage (by other states in the Eastern Bloc); and ob-
struction of espionage by other foreigners (mainly from Western
states). Section Two also had a registration department, whose func-
tion was the security filtering and examination of candidates for po-
sitions in state service and at defense plants. At the end of the 1960s,
sections One and Two were merged into a new branch entitled the
Branch for Prevention of Subversion and Obstruction of Espionage,
better known as the “non-Arab branch” or simply the “Jewish
branch.” The new branch consisted of the three espionage obstruction
departments that had belonged to Section Two and the department for
obstruction of political subversion in the Jewish sector, the depart-
ment for registration and security filtering, an archive, and a depart-
ment for communication with foreign security services.
Section Threewas concerned with Arab affairs, namely, monitor-
ing and tracing the political mood of the Arabs of Israel, who at that
time were under military government. Also active in this section were
departments for the obstruction of espionage by Arab states—which,
until the 1967 Six-Day War, saw most of Section Three’s activity—
and for prevention of hostile sabotage activity. Out of Section Three
grew the division known today as the Arab Affairs Branch. Since the
Six-Day War, the fight against subversive action in the territories and
the struggle against Palestinian terroristorganizations have been the
major missions of this branch.
“AL”was a unit concerned with new immigrants. In the early days
of the state, this unit kept its finger on the pulse of new immigrants,
first from Yemen and Eastern Europe, and then from Morocco and
Iraq. The unit functioned only briefly and was disbanded at the time
of Amos Manor’s directorship of the ISA. Yet operations among newISRAELI SECURITY AGENCY/SHERUTH BITAHON KLALI • 12906-102 (03) H-P.qxd 3/24/06 7:24 AM Page 129