Isser (Halperin) Har'el, the most famous former head of the Mossad, passed away last night at the age of 91 in Petach Tikvah. He is most famous for having orchestrated the Mossad's daring capture of Adolph Eichmann in Argentina, who was responsible for implementing the Nazis' Final Solution against the Jews of Europe. He is also credited with having turned the Mossad into a world-class intelligence organization. He joined the Haganah in 1942, and in 1948 became the first chief of Israel's Security Service, the Shin Bet. Former Mossad chief Nachum Admon said that Har'el had "exceptional intuition. We were all his students and we learned not only the secrets of the trade but the need for integrity."
Israeli historian Shlomo Nakdimon told Arutz-7 today,
"Whatever you say about Isser from an intelligence point of view, it won't be enough. There's no question that he took many secrets with him to the grave, but he did write a few books - one on his war with the German scientists who tried to build non-conventional weapons in Egypt, another on certain spy cases that he wished to publicize because of their political background, another on the capture of Adolph Eichmann, etc. He wasn't a spy himself, but he activated all of them.
"I interviewed him several times, and he was quite a fascinating person... He fought against Lechi and Etzel, when it was still thought that these were endangering the State; he later realized his mistake, and in fact opened the Mossad to former Lechi and Etzel members... He caused a big controversy when the secret microphone he placed in (Mapam) MK Meir Yaari's room was discovered; there had been suspicions that Yaari was working for the Soviets... Har'el was also heavily involved in the search for Yossele Shumacher [a little boy in the 1960's who was caught in the middle of a family feud and abducted to New York; he was finally found and returned to Israel] - he was even criticized for getting the Mossad too heavily involved in that case... Har'el was responsible for internal security, and for the capture of dozens of spies; he was able to uncover spies himself. There was a story with someone named Ze'ev Avni, who was an Israeli diplomat who wished to join the Mossad. One time, he asked to meet with Har'el, and Har'el looked at him and said, 'You're a spy!' and ordered his immediate arrest - and it turned out that his intuition hadn't let him down..."
Israeli historian Shlomo Nakdimon told Arutz-7 today,
"Whatever you say about Isser from an intelligence point of view, it won't be enough. There's no question that he took many secrets with him to the grave, but he did write a few books - one on his war with the German scientists who tried to build non-conventional weapons in Egypt, another on certain spy cases that he wished to publicize because of their political background, another on the capture of Adolph Eichmann, etc. He wasn't a spy himself, but he activated all of them.
"I interviewed him several times, and he was quite a fascinating person... He fought against Lechi and Etzel, when it was still thought that these were endangering the State; he later realized his mistake, and in fact opened the Mossad to former Lechi and Etzel members... He caused a big controversy when the secret microphone he placed in (Mapam) MK Meir Yaari's room was discovered; there had been suspicions that Yaari was working for the Soviets... Har'el was also heavily involved in the search for Yossele Shumacher [a little boy in the 1960's who was caught in the middle of a family feud and abducted to New York; he was finally found and returned to Israel] - he was even criticized for getting the Mossad too heavily involved in that case... Har'el was responsible for internal security, and for the capture of dozens of spies; he was able to uncover spies himself. There was a story with someone named Ze'ev Avni, who was an Israeli diplomat who wished to join the Mossad. One time, he asked to meet with Har'el, and Har'el looked at him and said, 'You're a spy!' and ordered his immediate arrest - and it turned out that his intuition hadn't let him down..."