1983 The Moshe Dayan Center for the Middle East is established at Tel
Aviv University; it concentrates its research on the Arab world (including
North Africa), Turkey, and Iran. January: Marcus Klinberg, vice presi-
dent of the Nes Tsiona Institute for Biological Research, is arrested for es-
pionage for the Soviet Union. He is tried, found guilty, and imprisoned for
20 years. 7 February:The Kahan Commission reports that the massacre
at Sabra and Shatila was carried out by a Lebanese Phalangist unit, acting
on its own; although the unit’s entry into the camps was known to Israel,
no Israeli was directly responsible for the events that occurred in the
camps.April: Ehud Barak is appointed director of Military Intelligence
(DMI) and promoted to major general. The Jaffe Center for Strategic
Studies (JCSS) is founded at Tel Aviv University. The center is considered
the academic equivalent to Military Intelligence (MI).
1984 12 April: Four Palestinians hijack bus no. 300, en route from Tel
Aviv to Ashkelon with 41 passengers, and force it to drive to the Gaza
Strip. The terrorists negotiate for the release of some 500 PLO terrorists
in Israeli jails. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit storms the bus, re-
leases the passengers except for one woman passenger who is killed;
seven other passengers are wounded. Two of the terrorists are killed in-
side the bus. The other two are severely beaten, then driven off in a van
by ISA agents, who torture and kill them. The revelation of these events
by the Israeli press creates an enormous furor. May: Jonathan Jay Pollard,
an American naval security analyst, begins to deliver sensitive informa-
tion to his Israeli handlers Yossi Yagur and Aviam Sella. June: The Zorea
Commission of Inquiry is formed to determine who killed the two terror-
ists of bus 300 who were captured alive; the commission is headed by re-
serve major general Meir Zorea. 21 November:The Moses Operation to
bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel starts, continuing until 5 January 1985.1985 28 March: Another operation to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel,
Sheba Operation, begins; it is of short duration, lasting three to four
days. 6 June: The Center for Special Studies is established with the pri-
mary purpose of memorializing the fallen of the Israeli intelligence
community. It devotes its resources to the education of the younger gen-
eration about the past deeds of Israeli intelligence.November: Pollard
is arrested in the United States and charged with espionage, straining re-
lations between the two allies.
1986 Major General Amnon Lipkin-Shahak is appointed director of
Military Intelligence (DMI), a position he holds until 1991. September:xxxiv •CHRONOLOGY06-102 (01) FM.qxd 3/24/06 7:22 AM Page xxxiv