A monstrous story. Masada

December 13, 1949Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurionsigned a secret letter, which discussed the unification of all intelligence services. This was the beginning of the creation of one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world - Mossad. Officially, this department was created on April 1, 1951 as a result of the merger of the “Central Institute of Coordination” and the “Central Institute of Intelligence and Security”.

The main office of the Mossad is in Tel Aviv. The staff numbers about 1,200 people, including technical staff. The organization also uses a huge number of recruited agents around the world, the number of which is estimated at 35 thousand people. Mossad employees can retire at age 45 (a year of service abroad counts as one and a half years).

What does Mossad do?

The main activities of the Mossad are:

• secret collection of information abroad;
• preventing terrorist activities against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad;
• development and maintenance of special secret connections, political and other, abroad;
• preventing the development and acquisition of weapons stockpiles by hostile countries;
• carrying out the repatriation of Jews from countries from which official travel to Israel is impossible;
• obtaining strategic, political and operational intelligence information;
• carrying out special operations outside the State of Israel.

What is the structure of the intelligence service?

The Mossad is led by a directorate consisting of a director, his deputies and administrative services.

The Director of Mossad sits on the "Committee of Chiefs of Intelligence Services," or "Warash" for short, and reports directly to the Prime Minister of Israel.

The following departments are subordinate to the director:

• Directorate of Operational Planning and Coordination "Tsomet" - conducting espionage operations;
• Department for Combating Arab Terrorism "PAHA" - collection and analysis of data on Arab terrorist organizations;
• information and analytical department "NAKA" - analysis of information and development of recommendations to management and politicians;
• Department of Political Actions and Relations with Foreign Intelligence Services "Tevel" - sale of Israeli weapons abroad, cooperation with world intelligence services;
• research department - compiling reports on the situation in different regions peace;
• operational and technical management - logistics support for services and operations;
• electronic intelligence unit "Neviot" - wiretapping, collection of electronic information;
• Department of Psychological Warfare and Disinformation Actions “Lohama Psycholit” - conducting psychological warfare, propaganda;
• Directorate of Special Operations "Metsada" - carrying out force actions;
• special unit "Kidon" - destruction of terrorists;
• directorate of secret operations "Komemiyut" - eliminating enemies of the Jewish state;
• Department of Finance and Personnel - performs support functions;
• training management - training of employees and agents.
  

  ​How to join the Mossad?

  Recruitment of Mossad employees is carried out, as a rule, among Israeli citizens who have served in the army, as well as among university graduates. Preliminary tests and inspections last several months. This work is carried out by the recruiting department.

  At the first stage of selection, each candidate undergoes a thorough questionnaire, psychological and graphological examination. After this, those wishing to enter the service complete practical tasks. For example, they pass through border control at the airport unnoticed, change the membrane in a telephone handset at the counter at a hotel clerk, etc.

  Those who pass the test are enrolled in the Mossad academy, which is called Midrash. In it, cadets are turned into professional intelligence officers capable of conducting any operations, anywhere in the world and under any circumstances. After a year of training, cadets undergo internships in Mossad units.

  The cadets then return for the next course. Only those who have successfully completed all levels of training and passed control exams become active employees.

  What special operations did the Mossad participate in?

  Eichmann kidnapping

  In the 50-60s of the last century, the Mossad carried out a number of operations to search for and eliminate Nazi war criminals who fled after the war to the countries of Latin America and the Middle East. In 1960, agents abducted a Nazi from Argentina. criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was hiding there under an assumed name. Eichmann was transported to Israel, convicted and executed.

  "Sword of Damocles"

  On July 22, 1962, Egypt tested medium-range ballistic missiles. Having learned that German specialists were working on the project, Mossad agents first sent them letters asking them to withdraw from the project, which could threaten the security of Israel. Scientists did not react to the message in any way. As a result, the Mossad eliminated the scientists. Several engineers died while opening explosive packages received by mail, and one specialist simply disappeared.

  "Noah's Ark"

  In 1969, France declared an embargo on the supply of any weapons to Israel, not wanting to complicate relations with Arab countries. In response to this, the special services carried out an operation to steal 5 ready-made missile boats type Saar 3, ordered and paid for by Israel. On December 24, 1969, in a force 9 storm, the boats left the port and, after a week-long sea voyage, arrived in Haifa on January 1, 1970.

  "The Wrath of God"

  The Mossad's most famous operation was the destruction of the radical terrorist group Black September, whose members captured the Israeli Olympic team in September 1972. The operation was called “Wrath of God.” The future Prime Minister of the Jewish State personally took part in it Ehud Barak. Over the course of six years, all the terrorists involved in the seizure were killed. Some of the militants were eliminated using explosive devices built into telephone handsets.

  Mossad (translated from Hebrew as “institute”, “institution”) is the secret service of the State of Israel.

Israel's foreign intelligence service (Mossad) chose as its motto the words from the Book of Proverbs of Solomon: “With a lack of care, a people falls, but with many advisers it prospers.” These words, carved on the Mossad emblem, have deep meaning: They define intelligence goals, awaken the initiative of state security officials, but also serve as a stern warning to those in power.

Mossad logo
All photos from mossad.gov.il

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Alexander Shulman
Mossad

The Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad is deservedly considered one of the most effective intelligence services in the world. The Mossad is responsible for collecting intelligence information and conducting covert special operations abroad. It identifies dangers threatening the country, its citizens and Jewish communities in the Diaspora, seeks to prevent them and acts to strengthen the security and military power of the state.

The official name of this Israeli intelligence service in Hebrew is “ha-Mossad le Modiin ule Tafkidim Mehadim,” which translated means “Intelligence and Special Operations Agency.” The Mossad chose as its motto the words from the Book of Proverbs of Solomon: “With a lack of care, a people falls, but with many advisers it prospers.” These words, carved on the Mossad emblem, have a deep meaning: they define intelligence goals, awaken the initiative of state security officials, but also serve as a stern warning to those in power.

The history of the Mossad, its secret operations and actions, are covered with an impenetrable veil of secrecy. Only recently was the Israeli press allowed to announce the name of the next head of Mossad. Almost all information about the activities of Israeli intelligence is available only from the foreign press, which most likely uses leaks of very measured data. The Israeli leadership, as a rule, neither confirms nor denies most of the reports relating to the activities of the Mossad “knights of cloak and dagger” operating in all corners of the world.

Creation of Mossad.
The predecessors of the Mossad were the intelligence services of Jewish underground organizations that operated before the creation of the State of Israel. Haganah, the main and largest military organization Jews of Palestine, created Shai - a service for collecting information necessary for military and political confrontation Palestinian Arabs, Arab countries and the British authorities, under whose rule Palestine was then. The Shai intelligence service had extensive experience in operational and undercover work both against the Arabs and the British, and in the ranks of various organizations of the Jewish underground.

The proclamation of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948 and the subsequent invasion of regular armies of Arab countries required the creation of bodies state security and defining the scope of their activities.

Already on June 7, 1948, David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of the newly created state, held a meeting with Reuven Shiloach and Iser Beeri, who headed the Shai service. At this historic meeting, a decision was made to create military intelligence, counterintelligence service and foreign intelligence service.

The formation of the foreign intelligence service was entrusted to Reuven Shiloach, an expert on Arab countries and the Middle East, who had taken part in secret operations since his youth.

Reuven Shiloah, first head of Mossad

In July 1949, Reuven Shiloach, who belonged to Ben-Gurion’s inner circle, proposed the creation of “a central agency to coordinate the work of intelligence and security services.” Ben-Gurion agreed, and on December 13, 1949, such an agency was created. This date, December 13, 1949, is considered the date of the creation of the Mossad.

In March 1951, by decision of David Ben-Gurion, the main unit of the Mossad was formed, called ha-Rashut (Administration). He was entrusted with the conduct of all intelligence activities abroad, both at the headquarters and at the operational level. The Mossad came under the direct authority of the prime minister and was included in the ministry of the head of government.

Initially, all the activities of the Israeli intelligence services were strictly classified - Ben-Gurion was fundamentally against public disclosure of the existence of intelligence and security services.

Nazi hunters
In 1953, Reuven Shiloah was replaced as Mossad chief by Iser Harel, whose name is associated with the true formation of the foreign intelligence service.

Iser Harel, head of the Mossad from 1953-1963.

A native of Belarus, Harel had an exceptionally keen intelligence instinct and personally led the most important operations, giving preference to forceful methods. Under him, the structure of the Mossad was finally formed, and high professional and moral standards for intelligence activities were developed, which still exist today. Those who did not meet them had to look for another job.

Harel did not need executioners and sadists to carry out operations to eliminate the enemy: “I need people,” he said, “who are disgusted with killing, but who, nevertheless, can be taught to kill.” One of Harel's employees described it this way: Iser wants honest people to do the work of scoundrels.

In the 50-60s, the Mossad carried out a number of operations to search for and eliminate Nazi war criminals who fled from just retribution to Latin American and Arab countries. There is no official data on the liquidations carried out by the Mossad and it is unlikely that they will ever appear - these matters are very sensitive and very painful for the sovereignty of those countries on whose territory secret operations were carried out. Only many years later it became known, for example, how the fugitive leader of the Latvian Nazis, Herberts Kukurs, the executioner of the Jews of Latvia, was liquidated in Brazil in 1965.

Only the Mossad operation to search and capture in Argentina the Nazi war criminal SS Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, who headed department IV D4 of the Main Directorate of Reich Security and was the direct organizer of the genocide of Jews in Europe, gained worldwide fame.

After the war, Eichmann, with the help of the secret SS organization ODESSA (“brotherhood of SS members”), managed to escape to Argentina, where he hid under a false name. The search for Eichmann continued for several years until Mossad agents were able to establish his exact location in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. To capture Eichmann, a group of Mossad operatives was sent to Argentina, organizing surveillance of the facility and abduction under the noses of local authorities and Nazi organizations. Eichmann was secretly transported to Israel, where he was tried and executed in May 1962.

However, the Mossad in its hunt for Nazis was guided not only by sentiments about those killed in the Holocaust - fugitive Nazis who settled in Arab countries and united in a “devilish alliance” with the Russians played an important role in preparing the Arab armies for the war against Israel and for the creation of a new weapons.

Meir Amit, head of Mossad from 1963-1968.

In the 50s, a top-secret facility under code number 333 was created in Egypt, which was nothing more than a ballistic missile production plant where hundreds of German engineers and scientists worked. Basically, former Nazis who at one time worked at Messerschmitt aircraft factories and in the secret laboratories of Wernher von Braun. The security of German specialists was in charge of a former SS officer, now declassified under the pseudonym “Valentin”.

The first information about the plans of the Egyptian authorities, with the help of fugitive Nazis, to obtain modern weapons, was received from the head of the Mossad intelligence network in Egypt, “Wolfgang Lotz.” "Wolfgang Lotz" was introduced under the legend of a former Wehrmacht officer and was the owner of an aristocratic riding club in Cairo. He managed to establish close ties with the Egyptian leadership and the German community, from where he obtained information about the development of the rocket project.

The Mossad carried out Operation Sword of Damocles, the goal of which was to eliminate the Egyptian missile program. Initially, events developed according to the usual scenario - the Mossad decided to intimidate the Germans working in Egypt and force them to refuse to participate in the project. Several German specialists were eliminated and disappeared without a trace, but the goals were not achieved.

Then the Mossad changed tactics, recruiting such a legendary figure as the former commander of the SS saboteurs, Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny. He became famous for his daring operations behind enemy lines during World War II - the abduction of Benito Mussolini from captivity in Italy and the raids of his saboteurs dressed in Anglo-American uniforms into the rear of the Allied armies. Skorzeny was associated with the leadership of the secret organization of SS men ODESSA (“brotherhood of SS members”) and was probably of great interest to the Mossad.

On Skorzeny’s recommendation, Mossad agents came into direct contact with the Obersturmbannführer’s longtime colleague, “Valentin.” Soon the Mossad received full program what exactly German specialists are doing in Egypt. However, cooperation in the military-industrial sphere with other countries was then prohibited by German legislation. The information received was conveyed to Franz Josef Strauss, the German Minister of Defense and a loyal friend of Israel, and he, in accordance with the law, immediately recalled the citizens of his country from Cairo. Thus, Egypt's military program was disrupted.

It is interesting to note that successful leadership Operation Sword of Damocles was carried out by the new Mossad chief Meir Amit, a native of Ukraine and cousin of the famous Soviet front-line poet Boris Slutsky.

In pursuit of weapons
One of the main tasks solved by the Mossad is to overcome bans on the supply of weapons to Israel and obtain information about new weapons systems of a potential enemy. It is clear that such information is necessary to create our own weapons systems capable of successfully coping with new threats on the battlefield.

Before the 1967 War, France was the main supplier of weapons to the Israeli army. However, then France took a pro-Arab position and refused to fulfill its obligations. Masses have accumulated in French ports military equipment, previously purchased and paid for by Israel and which France now refused to supply.

Zvi Zamir, head of Mossad from 1968-1974.

At the shipyards in the French port of Cherbourg, five missile-carrying boats were built by order of Israel. However, France declared an embargo on arms supplies to Israel and these boats were never delivered to the Israeli Navy. In Israel they decided by any means to ensure that the French fulfilled the previously paid order. The Starbot company, registered in Panama and having a representative office in Norway, expressed a desire to purchase five boats being built in Cherbourg for Israel and delayed by the embargo. The company needed these boats to service oil platforms in the North Sea. Soon all the formalities were settled and the crews of the “Norwegians” arrived in Cherbourg. In fact, the Mossad created this company in Norway, and under the guise of “Norwegian” sailors, officers and sailors of the Israeli Navy arrived in Cherbourg.

On December 25, 1968, on Christmas night, five missile-carrying boats suddenly left the port of Cherbourg. Having entered the open sea, the sailors raised the flag of the Israeli Navy on the masts and, in wake formation, went to the naval base of the Israeli Navy in Haifa.

Due to the French government's refusal to supply 50 already paid for Mirage aircraft and spare parts for them, the Israelis could neither replenish their air force nor repair aircraft damaged during combat operations. In search of a solution to the problem, the Mossad recruited engineer Frauenknecht, head of the engine department of the Swiss company Sulzer, where Mirage aircraft engines were produced. Frauenknecht handed over more than 2 tons to Mossad agents technical documentation. As a result, the production of engines for the Israeli Mirages was established at the Israeli aviation industry plant.

However, a number of experts believe that the “Frauenknecht case”, which was deliberately widely publicized, was only a cover-up campaign for other, much more important, successful operations of the Mossad

Yitzhak Hofi, head of the Mossad from 1974-1982.

The Mossad is making serious efforts to prevent weapons from hitting mass destruction into the hands of Arab and Islamic regimes. In the mid-70s, France and Iraq agreed to supply this Arab country with two nuclear reactors. Iraq sought to create its own nuclear weapons, which he planned to use against Israel. On April 5, 1979, nuclear reactor equipment ready to be sent to Iraq was blown up at a plant in France. A previously unknown “Environmental Defenders Group” took responsibility for this action.

In 1980, one of the leading Iraqi nuclear physicists who headed the Iraqi nuclear project, Professor Yahya El-Meshad, was found dead in his Paris apartment. The same sudden death suffered in 1990 the Canadian scientist Gerald Bull, the developer of a supergun commissioned by Iraq, and in 1991 Alan Kidger, the head of a South African chemical plant, who was suspected of illegal supplies chemical substances for the production of nuclear weapons in Arab states.

Since in the 60-70s a significant part of the combat equipment of the Arab armies was supplied from the USSR, the Mossad carried out several well-known operations to seize Soviet military equipment that was in service with the Arab armies.

In 1965, the then new Soviet fighter MiG-21 entered service with the Arabs. This news caused alarm in the Israeli Air Force, since no data on the tactical and technical characteristics of this aircraft was known. The Mossad was instructed to take possession of this aircraft for the purpose of subsequent detailed study in Israel. For this purpose, the Mossad recruited Iraqi pilot Munir Redfi, one of the first to master this type of aircraft. At 23, Munir Redfi was considered the best air ace Iraq and was the commander of a squadron of MiG-21 fighters just delivered from the USSR. During a training flight on August 15, 1966, Redfi flew at low altitude through Jordan and landed the plane at an airbase in Israel. Redfi and his family were then transported to a safe country.

In 1969, Soviet P-12 radar stations entered service with the Egyptian army. The presence of such sophisticated equipment in the hands of the enemy could seriously limit the field of activity of Israeli combat aviation. Therefore, it was decided to capture a sample of this radar.

The P-12 radar was located deep in Egyptian territory, at a distance of 400 kilometers from the front line. It was decided to conduct landing operation in order to capture the station and its staff. On December 25, 1969, an Israeli special forces landing group landed from helicopters near the radar station. Having destroyed the station's guards in battle, Israeli paratroopers called in two cargo helicopters. The radar, weighing 8 tons, was cut into two parts, which were suspended on cables from the helicopters. The P-12 radar was delivered to Israel without any damage and was subjected to careful study, which made it possible to create the necessary means electronic protection airplanes.

One more successful operation to capture samples of Soviet weapons was the flight to Israel on a MiG-23 in 1989 by a Syrian pilot recruited by the Mossad.

Nachum Admoni, head of Mossad from 1982-1989.

Mossad operations against Soviet and Russian intelligence have a long history. The Russians have always waged war against Israel on the side of the Arabs and actively supported Islamic terror against Israel.

Israeli intelligence and counterintelligence services have a very successful experience in eliminating Russian agents. One can note the revelations of Russian spies I. Ber, who held a responsible post in the office of the first Prime Minister of Israel, Klinberg, who passed on secret information about biological research to the Russians, Kalmanovich, who was abandoned in Israel in 60 -th years. In the 60s, a Russian spy network in Israel was exposed, which included dozens of priests and monks of the Russian Orthodox Church.

An important role in exposing Russian spies in robes was played by Viktor Graevsky, director of the foreign broadcasting service Kol Israel. Victor Grajewski became famous in the 50s when, while a prominent official of the apparatus of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers' Party, he handed over to Israeli intelligence Khrushchev's secret report at the 20th Congress of the CPSU. As it became known after Graevsky’s death in 2006, he, with the knowledge of the Israeli intelligence services, was a double agent - he worked for both Israeli and Russian intelligence. The Mossad successfully used Graevsky to feed disinformation to the Russians. Graevsky outplayed the Russians.

What is known about Mossad operations on the territory of the USSR is that the Mossad was active in the early 90s in the Caucasus and Transnistria with the aim of evacuating the Jewish population from military conflict zones to Israel.

IN last years Russia has become a global center of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel activity. Russian nationalist organizations are active in this country and have openly declared war on the Jewish people and the state of Israel, which undoubtedly makes Russian extremists an object of interest for Israeli intelligence services.

War on Terror
Throughout its history, the State of Israel has waged a merciless war against Islamic terrorism. The Mossad and other Israeli state security agencies successfully solve the problem of countering the terrorist threat, identifying and eliminating everyone involved in terrorist activities. On this front of the secret war on terror

The Mossad has accumulated unique and multifaceted experience, which it shares with the intelligence services of other countries countering the terrorist threat.

The Mossad's ideology in the war on terror is based on several simple principles:
- In the war against state-supported terror, one cannot limit oneself to methods of passive defense - one must strive to destroy terrorists in their lair and inflict painful blows on states that provide them with cover, so that the price of supporting terrorists is very high.
- Surprise and mobility are the key to success. The blow is delivered where the enemy least expects it.
- There are no impregnable objects: any system is vulnerable to fighters who are able to think non-trivially and find solutions unexpected for the enemy.
- The most important thing: there is not and cannot be an unfulfilled task.

In the war on terror, MOSSAD takes on the role of organizer and coordinator of the activities of other Israeli intelligence services.

In the early 60s, Mossad introduced its agent Eli Cohen into the very top echelons of power in Syria. Acting under the guise of a wealthy Arab businessman from Argentina, Eli Cohen managed to become a personal friend of the President of Syria and took the post of Deputy Minister of Defense of that country.
For three years, Eli Cohen transmitted information to the Mossad about all the military and political secrets of Syria and other Arab countries.
It was only in 1965 that the Syrians, with the help of the Russians, managed to locate Cohen's radio transmitter. After his arrest and torture, the Syrians tried to persuade Eli Cohen to cooperate and use him in a radio game against the Mossad. However, Eli Cohen managed to convey a message about his failure in radio codes dictated by the Syrians. On May 18, 1965, a public execution of a Mossad agent took place in a square in Damascus with a large crowd of people, but the intelligence transmitted by Eli Cohen played a decisive role in the defeat of Syria in Six Day War 1967.

Shabtai Shavit, head of the Mossad from 1989-1996.

News of the murder of 11 Israeli team players by Palestinian terrorists Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 caused fury in Israel. Prime Minister Golda Meir said in the Knesset: "Israel will use all the strength and ability that our people have to catch the terrorists wherever they are." Mossad chief Zvi Zamir compiled a list of seventeen Palestinians responsible for the Munich crime. And he set a task: all terrorists, many of whom were trained in the USSR, must be dead. Mossad strike groups destroyed all the leadership and militants of the Black September terrorist organization responsible for the murder of Israeli athletes.

On Sunday, June 27, 1976, an Air France passenger plane was hijacked by terrorists, who forced the crew to land at En-tebbe airport in the African country of Uganda. The terrorists took the Israeli passengers hostage and demanded the release of the arrested Palestinian terrorists in exchange. The Ugandan authorities provided full support to the air pirates.

The distance from Israel to Uganda is over four thousand kilometers. By the evening of June 30, the Mossad and the special forces command had completed the development of the operation. On July 3, 1976, Israeli army special forces carried out an operation to free 105 hostages. Planes carrying Israeli paratroopers suddenly landed in Entebbe. Special forces soldiers destroyed the terrorists and Ugandan guards and returned to Israel with the freed hostages. This bold and unprecedented action showed the world community that terrorism and extortion must be met with a counter-strike.

In its activities abroad, MOSSAD widely practices special operations to destroy Israel's opponents. Thus, in Malta, the leader of the Jihad terrorist organization, Fathi Skakaki, was killed, in Lebanon, the leader of another terrorist organization, the Believers' Resistance Group, Mustafa Darani, was kidnapped and taken to Israel, and before that, in the 80s, the leader of the organization was kidnapped in Lebanon. Hezbollah Javad Kaspi and Sheikh Karim Obeida. In a number of European cities, the deputy chairman of the PLO Kamal Hussein, the head of the Fatah faction, Shatoun Muraah, the head of information service PLO Abu Sharar, other prominent figures of the PLO and a number of Islamic terrorist organizations.

Dani Yatom, head of Mossad from 1996-1998.

The activity of anti-terrorist measures increased after the arrival in 2002 of the senior paratrooper general Meir Dagan, who specialized in the fight against terror during his military service. According to the British newspaper Sunday Times, with the arrival of Dagan, the Mossad eliminated a number of prominent functionaries of Islamic terrorist organizations based in Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Iran.
Among them:
December 2002. Ramzi Nahara, a Hezbollah functionary, was responsible for planning terrorist operations against Israeli targets.
March 2003. Abu Mohammed Al-Masri. Member of Al-Qaeda, head of a terrorist network operating on the Lebanese-Israeli border.
August 2003 Ali Hussein Seilh, Hezbollah Booby Trap Expert
July 2004 Haleb Avali. Hezbollah leader responsible for dealing with Hamas in the Gaza Strip
September 2004 Iz-el-Din, Hamas leader in charge of relations with Syria
May 2006 Mahmoud Majub. Leader of Islamic Jihad, responsible for interaction with Hezbollah
February 2008. Imad Mounieh. Chapter " General Staff» Hezbollah

The conduct of such covert operations can be illustrated by the example of the liquidation of the leader of the military wing of Palestinian terrorists, Abu Jihad, in 1988 in Tunisia. Previously MOSSAD through its agents in Tunisia and with the help technical means collected all possible information about the area, places of deployment of police and military forces of Tunisians and Palestinians, all conversations of Abu Jihad and his entourage were constantly monitored
.
Immediately before the operation, special forces soldiers conducted a “dress rehearsal” for the upcoming operation in a built replica of Abu Jihad’s villa. A special group of MOSSAD agents arrived in Tunisia under the guise of tourists, which was supposed to meet the assault group on the coast and ensure its delivery to the target.
The operation involved the forces of the Israeli Air Force and Navy: a squadron of 4 corvettes secretly approached the shores of Tunisia; two Boeing 707s with electronic equipment were constantly flying over the Mediterranean Sea, with electronic equipment designed to suppress communications and control of the Tunisian military-police forces and the Palestinians.

An assault group of special forces soldiers secretly landed on the Tunisian coast, where they were met by previously sent MOSSAD agents and taken by car to the area where the terrorist leaders lived. The special forces blocked the approaches to Abu Jihad's villa from the adjacent streets, silently entered the house using special means from both ends, shot the guards and Abu Jihad with weapons equipped with flameless and silent shooting attachments, after which, taking secret documents, they safely left the area and returned to the ships waiting for her.

The only evidence of the group’s presence were dozens of terrorist corpses, marked with the “trademark” of Mossad operatives - a control shot in the eye.

Who works in Mossad
Service in the Mossad was and remains one of the most prestigious in Israel. Many members of Israel's political elite began their careers as Mossad agents. For example, Tzipi Livni, the current Israeli Foreign Minister, served in the Mossad for four years.

In the service of state security agencies, representatives of various strata of Israeli society combine their efforts. This is clearly visible in the biographies of leaders
Foreign intelligence.

Ephraim Halevi, head of Mossad in 1998-2002.

Thus, the previous head of Mossad, Efraim Halevi, was born in Great Britain into a family of intellectuals - he is the nephew of the outstanding British philosopher and president of the British Academy, Sir Isaiah Berlin. Ephraim
Halevi worked as a journalist and served as Israel's ambassador to the European Community. Halevi served in the Mossad for 28 years, successively going through all the career steps of a professional intelligence officer.

Meir Dagan, head of Mossad

The current head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, was born in Novosibirsk. Dagan had a brilliant army career. Having started his service in airborne troops, he took part in all of Israel's wars. For the courage shown in battle, Dagan was awarded the highest military awards. Dagan has the rank of major general, and served as division commander and deputy chief of the operational department of the General Staff. In January 1999, Meir Dagan, when he was an adviser to the Israeli Prime Minister on the fight against terror, conducted professional negotiations with the then head of Russian foreign intelligence, Vladimir Putin.

People as different as Efraim Halevi and Meir Dagan are, each in their own way serving one goal - to protect the interests of their country.

In his address to potential candidates for intelligence service, Mossad chief Meir Dagan defined the requirements for intelligence officers as follows: “Those recruited to the Mossad join a glorious cohort of warriors and intelligence officers who serve in its ranks in complete secrecy, driven by devotion and loyalty to their people. and your country. The main strength of the Mossad is the people who serve in its ranks and are its stronghold, its driving force. They are at the forefront of operational missions. Members of the Mossad are required to be fully dedicated to their abilities, valor and devotion to their country. Mossad people understand their mission and are dedicated to it."

On December 13, 1949, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion signed a secret letter calling for the unification of all intelligence services. This was the beginning of the creation of one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world - Mossad. Officially, this department was created on April 1, 1951 as a result of the merger of the “Central Institute of Coordination” and the “Central Institute of Intelligence and Security”.

The main office of the Mossad is in Tel Aviv. The staff numbers about 1,200 people, including technical staff. The organization also uses a huge number of recruited agents around the world, the number of which is estimated at 35 thousand people. Mossad employees can retire at age 45 (a year of service abroad counts as one and a half years).

What does Mossad do?

Mossad is an Israeli intelligence service that, in addition to receiving classified information, is engaged in the physical elimination of enemies of the Jewish state.

The main activities of the Mossad are:

1. secret collection of information abroad;
2. preventing terrorist activities against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad;
3. development and maintenance of special secret connections, political and other, abroad;
4. preventing the development and acquisition of weapons stockpiles by hostile countries;
5. carrying out the repatriation of Jews from countries from which official travel to Israel is impossible;
6. obtaining strategic, political and operational intelligence information;
7. carrying out special operations outside the State of Israel.

The Mossad is led by a directorate consisting of a director, his deputies and administrative services. The Director of Mossad sits on the "Committee of Chiefs of Intelligence Services," or "Warash" for short, and reports directly to the Prime Minister of Israel.

How to join the Mossad?

Recruitment of Mossad employees is carried out, as a rule, among Israeli citizens who have served in the army, as well as among university graduates. Preliminary tests and inspections last several months. This work is carried out by the recruiting department.

At the first stage of selection, each candidate undergoes a thorough questionnaire, psychological and graphological examination. After this, those wishing to enter the service complete practical tasks. For example, they pass through border control at the airport unnoticed, change the membrane in a telephone handset at the counter at a hotel clerk, etc.

Those who pass the test are enrolled in the Mossad academy, which is called Midrash. In it, cadets are turned into professional intelligence officers capable of conducting any operations, anywhere in the world and under any circumstances. After a year of training, cadets undergo internships in Mossad units.

The cadets then return for the next course. Only those who have successfully completed all levels of training and passed control exams become active employees.

What special operations did the Mossad participate in?

Eichmann kidnapping

In the 50s and 60s of the last century, the Mossad carried out a number of operations to search for and eliminate Nazi war criminals who fled after the war to the countries of Latin America and the Middle East. In 1960, agents stole from Argentina Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was hiding there under an assumed name. Eichmann was transported to Israel, convicted and executed.

"Sword of Damocles"

On July 22, 1962, Egypt tested medium-range ballistic missiles. Having learned that German specialists were working on the project, Mossad agents first sent them letters asking them to withdraw from the project, which could threaten the security of Israel. Scientists did not react to the message in any way. As a result, the Mossad eliminated the scientists. Several engineers died while opening explosive packages received by mail, and one specialist simply disappeared.

"Noah's Ark"

In 1969, France declared an embargo on the supply of any weapons to Israel, not wanting to complicate relations with Arab countries. In response to this, the special services carried out an operation to steal from the shipyard 5 finished missile boats of the Saar 3 type, ordered and paid for by Israel. On December 24, 1969, in a force 9 storm, the boats left the port and, after a week-long sea voyage, arrived in Haifa on January 1, 1970

"The Wrath of God"

The Mossad's most famous operation was the destruction of the radical terrorist group Black September, whose members captured the Israeli Olympic team in September 1972. The operation was called “Wrath of God.” The future Prime Minister of the Jewish State, Ehud Barak, personally took part in it. Over the course of six years, all the terrorists involved in the seizure were killed. Some of the militants were eliminated using explosive devices built into telephone handsets.

There was a lot in the history of the Jewish people, but what was always missing from it were exploits. The same resistance in the ghetto during the Great Patriotic War, although described in different sources in different ways, but the closer the author was to the events, the less he mentions heroism. And yet, there is something to talk about.

Masada is a legendary ancient fortress located almost on the shore Dead Sea. It is on the list of World Heritage Sites.

As soon as they don’t write the familiar word “Masada” from an unfamiliar language - Massada, Mossada, Mossada... And the Israeli foreign intelligence service is called Mossad, Mossad, Massad, Masad. The correct spelling and pronunciation is Masada, with emphasis on the second “a”. These names are consonant not by chance. The name of the intelligence agency was based on the name of the fortress.

The Masada fortress in Israel was built in 25 BC by King Herod the Great, who left a memory of himself as a cruel villain who, fearing to lose his throne, ordered the killing of all the babies of Bethlehem in order to get rid of the newborn Jesus.

However, he also left a mark on history as a king-builder. He expanded Temple Mount, reconstructed the Second Temple, built an Amphitheater in the suburbs of Jerusalem, where gladiator fights and horse races were held. In honor of his deceased brother, he built a mausoleum with a tower. He rebuilt Samaria, built the port of Caesar, a temple on the island of Rhodes, founded Herodion and Heshbon (now the territory of Jordan).

Built on top of an inaccessible cliff in the arid and desolate desert region of Israel, the Masada fortress served several purposes. It was a refuge for Herod and his family during times of endless wars; gold and weapons were stored in it.

The fortress walls, four meters thick and almost one and a half kilometers long with numerous defensive towers, the palace of King Herod, and the synagogue have survived to this day.

Masada had a well-organized system for collecting rainwater into huge storage tanks. Food supplies and drinking water helped the defenders of the fortress hold the defense for three years.

History of Masada Fortress

In the year 66 of the first century AD, the Middle East begins to unfold historical events, which, without exaggeration, seriously influenced the course of human history. It's about about the revolt of the Jews against the oppression of the Roman Empire. At this time, Masada was taken by the rebel Zealots - irreconcilable and militant opponents of the Romans, who decided to fight them to the bitter end and destroyed the Roman garrison.

In 67 AD. The Sicarii, representatives of the radical wing of the Zealot movement, settled in Masada. It was they who led the uprising against the Romans, which then resulted in the long Jewish War.

In the summer of 70 AD. Roman commander Titus captures Holy Jerusalem, fiercely defended by rebels, and destroys the First Temple of Jerusalem. Soon Masada remains the only stronghold of the rebels. The defenders of the fortress numbered barely a thousand people, including women and children, but they managed to hold Masada for another three years.

Around the seemingly impregnable fortress, legionnaires set up eight military camps, the outlines of which have survived to this day. The military campaign to capture the last stronghold of the Jewish rebels was led by the legendary Tenth Legion of the Roman army.

Having examined Mount Masada from all sides, the commander of the legion, Flavius ​​Silva, gives the order to pour a 70-meter stone rampart (ramp) from the western, more weak side fortresses With the help of this shaft, the Romans planned to bring the ram as close as possible to the fortress wall.

About 9 thousand slaves built roads and carried earth to build a siege rampart around the fortress and platforms for throwing machines and rams.

When the Romans managed to set fire to the additional internal defensive wall built by the Sicarii, consisting of wooden beams, Masada's fate was sealed.

One of the leaders of the uprising, Elazar Ben Yair, realizing that all those besieged in the fortress will be destroyed, and the survivors will be subjected to severe torture and humiliation, during the night he convinces his comrades to choose death rather than slavery.

“Long ago, brave men, we decided not to obey either the Romans or anyone else except G‑d, for He is the only true and just King over people. I look at it as G-d’s mercy that He gave us the opportunity to die a beautiful death and free people, which is not destined for others who were unexpectedly captured.”

The lot was cast and ten performers were chosen last will, who stabbed all the defenders of the fortress, women and children, with swords, after which one of them, also chosen by lot, killed the rest and committed suicide.

In those days, 960 besieged Jewish rebels gave their lives for freedom in Masada. The Romans, ready for battle, were amazed at the terrible sight that appeared before them. Thus ended the Jewish War of 66-73. n. e.

The remains of the legendary fortress were sought for many centuries, but were discovered only in 1842. Serious study of this place and excavations began only in the sixties of the twentieth century. Restoration work lasted for decades, and only by the beginning of this century did scientists and restorers restore the fortress to the same form it was under King Herod.

In the heart of the fortress, behind a glass door, a rabbi is copying the Torah. He reacts quite negatively to attempts to photograph him.

One of the most striking finds is the synagogue. It was believed that the Jews had no need for synagogues as long as they had the Temple. Masada was reconstructed during the existence of the Second Temple, but a synagogue was nevertheless created in it.

For some time, the history of the defense of Masada was considered a legend, but a comparison of Jewish and Roman historical chronicles, including Josephus's book "The Jewish War", and archaeological finds on the territory of the fortress, including stone tablets with names used as lots for ten executors of the last will, convince of the opposite.

Today the fortress is a real ancient city with the streets and all the infrastructure of that distant time. There are two ways to get there: by cable car, which will take you to the top of the rock in two or three minutes, or along the Snake Path - the same one used by the defenders of the fortress.

This path is not easy and takes about an hour. However, enthusiasts who brave the difficult hike on foot will be truly rewarded: from every point on this winding path there are amazing views beautiful view to the Dead Sea and picturesque surroundings.

Grandiose concerts and festivals with the participation of world-class stars are sometimes held at the foot of the mountain. The fortress is firmly among the top ten must-see attractions in the country.

For modern Israel, Masada is not only historical monument, but also a synonym for national courage, heroism and the desire for freedom, on which more than one generation of the country’s inhabitants has been brought up.