Hadera and in the early 1950s became the leader of a criminal gang that
stole cars and handled stolen property. Even the gang members were
afraid of him. On one occasion, Kedar was arrested under suspicion of
a bank robbery and a possible murder, but was released due to insuffi-
cient evidence. He then moved to Tel Aviv and joined in the city’s bo-
hemian life. He underwent treatment by one of the best-known psy-
chologists in Tel Aviv, who was also working for Israeli intelligence.
The psychologist discerned in Kedar the talents appropriate for a spy,
and he recommended Kedar to the director of Military Intelligence
(DMI), Major General Yehoshafat Harkabi, for clandestine missions.
Harkabi decided to recruit Kedar to Unit 131.
In March 1957, Colonel Yuval Ne’eman of MI briefed Kedar at a
Tel Aviv café before sending him abroad to Buenos Aires to establish
a cover story. In Buenos Aires, Kedar was warmly received by
Kalman Klein, who was affiliated with Israeli intelligence in Ar-
gentina and was known by his codename “Pedro.” Kedar told Klein
that he knew about a secret meeting to be held in Buenos Aires be-
tween an Israeli army general and an Egyptian army general with the
purpose of initiating a peace process between the two countries. To-
ward that end, he claimed that he needed some $500,000 to bribe the
Egyptian general and to rent a secret apartment. Klein, with his pow-
erful Zionist feelings, did his best to satisfy the request. Since he was
unable to obtain the full amount requested (a small fortune in the
1950s), he withdrew his own savings and borrowed from friends, still
managing to collect only $80,000. Klein rented an apartment, with its
address kept secret at Kedar’s request. When Klein entered the secret
apartment with the money, Kedar stabbed him to death and escaped
to Paris. There he went to the Israeli embassy and told officials that
his cover had been blown and that he was being sought by enemies
who wanted to kill him. He asked for assistance to get back to Israel.
However, the embassy staff was fully aware of the actual course of
events that had transpired in Buenos Aires. When Klein did not return
home that fateful day, his wife called the police and gave them the ad-
dress of the apartment where her husband had gone, without reveal-
ing her husband’s purpose in going there. The police broke open the
apartment door and found Klein dead. The Argentinean authorities,
who realized that the murder had been perpetrated by an Israeli, in-
formed Israeli authorities.KEDAR, MORDECHAI• 14106-102 (03) H-P.qxd 3/24/06 7:24 AM Page 141