Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

the intelligence services. 3 August: Buqa’i is tried and hanged in Am-

man. October: Isser Be’eri is tried for his part in the execution of Meir

Tobianski. The court decides to discharge Be’eri from the military ser-

vice. 13 December: Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion authorizes es-

tablishment of the “Institute [mossad] for Co-ordination” to oversee the

Political Department of the Foreign Ministry and to coordinate internal

security and military intelligence bodies. This is the birth date of the

Mossad, then attached to the Foreign Ministry. Reuven Shiloah is ap-

pointed the Mossad’s first director.

1950 The Ezra and Nehemia Operation is launched, whereby almost

all Iraqi Jews are brought to Israel, first via Cyprus then directly; the

operation continues until early 1952. April: Binyamin Gibli is made

director of Military Intelligence (DMI) with promotion to colonel. He

mainly develops apparatus for intelligence gathering. July: Yehoshafat

Harkabi is appointed Gibli’s deputy and boosts intelligence analysis.

1951 Ben-Gurion authorizes the final reorganization of the Mossad,

making it an independent, centralized authority, capable of handling all

overseas intelligence tasks. According to the proposal, which in the end

does not materialize, the Mossad is supposed to be called the “Author-

ity.” It is meant to include representatives of the other two services, MI

and the domestic security service. The Mossad then departs from the

Foreign Ministry and reports directly to the prime minister, thus becom-

ing part of the Prime Minister’s Office. Major Max Binnet is assigned to

an espionage mission in Egypt. March: Creation of Nativ, an intelli-

gence organization responsible for Israel’s connection with the Jews of

the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and for immigration to Israel from

those countries. 1 April: The so-called Spies’ Revolt erupts, sparked by

the transfer of intelligence functions from the Foreign Ministry to the

Mossad; the revolt is led by Asher Ben-Natan. May: In Egypt, Major

Avraham Dar recruits young Jews for an espionage network.

1952 Avraham (Avri) El-Ad is recruited by MI’s Unit 131 to com-

mand the Jewish espionage network in Egypt; later he betrays its mem-

bers. 20 September: Shiloah resigns from the Mossad directorship, and

Isser Harel, until then director of the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), is

appointed to the post. Izi Doroth replaces Harel as the ISA director.

1953 Amos Manor is appointed Israeli Security Agency (ISA) director.

December: Official title of Military Intelligence (MI) is changed from

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