Eichmann was considered the Nazis' Chief Executioner, responsible for the 
formulation of the Final Solution and the logistics of the Holocaust slaughter. He was captured by US troops after World War II, but managed to escape in 1946. He finally settled in Argentina in the 1950's with a secret identity. After an arduous search, Israeli agents captured him in 1960, and clandestinely flew him to Israel.
Eichmann's trial began in February 1961, and brought out many aspects of the Holocaust that had not been previously known in Israel or around the world. He was sentenced to death, and was hanged – the only time the death penalty was carried out in Israel – on May 31, 1962.
Isser Harel, head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, initiated, planned and supervised the capture. Several years afterwards, he wrote a book with all the details of the operation, but was forbidden to publish it in its entirety.
Now, however, Maariv reports that the ban has been lifted. It is officially permitted for publication that the Mossad was involved, and not "Jewish volunteers," as Israel then claimed to Argentina. In addition, it can now be told officially that El Al Israel National Airlines managers and employees played an active role in spiriting Eichmann to Israel.
Meir Amit, who succeeded Harel as head of the Mossad, did not want the book published, for fear of the following details being known: methods by which the informer was contacted, including using two halves of a torn bill of local currency; the special photography equipment used in surveillance of Eichmann's home; methods by which the Mossad agents spied on the house, such as through the hole of a canvas used to cover a car; the constant renting out and switching of cars; the hideout built in the apartment used to hide Eichmann for a week before he was flown to Israel; and more.
Historical researcher Doron Geller writes that Eichmann's trial, "with the
recounting of the ghastly crimes the Nazis perpetrated on the Jews, brought out a tumultuous emotional response among the Israeli public and the Jewish people as a whole. Memories that had been repressed burst forth in the courtroom. People screamed and cried and wanted to attack and kill Eichmann in his bulletproof glass box. The whole story of Eichmann's directing the 'final solution' came out into the open. He asked for understanding and mercy from the Jewish people - claiming that he had acted "under orders", that he was just a "cog in the machine", that he had only done as he had been told... [But after] many centuries, those who had freely humiliated, ostracized, deported, expelled, and murdered the Jews would be answerable for their crimes."
Eichmann's trial began in February 1961, and brought out many aspects of the Holocaust that had not been previously known in Israel or around the world. He was sentenced to death, and was hanged – the only time the death penalty was carried out in Israel – on May 31, 1962.
Isser Harel, head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, initiated, planned and supervised the capture. Several years afterwards, he wrote a book with all the details of the operation, but was forbidden to publish it in its entirety.
Now, however, Maariv reports that the ban has been lifted. It is officially permitted for publication that the Mossad was involved, and not "Jewish volunteers," as Israel then claimed to Argentina. In addition, it can now be told officially that El Al Israel National Airlines managers and employees played an active role in spiriting Eichmann to Israel.
Meir Amit, who succeeded Harel as head of the Mossad, did not want the book published, for fear of the following details being known: methods by which the informer was contacted, including using two halves of a torn bill of local currency; the special photography equipment used in surveillance of Eichmann's home; methods by which the Mossad agents spied on the house, such as through the hole of a canvas used to cover a car; the constant renting out and switching of cars; the hideout built in the apartment used to hide Eichmann for a week before he was flown to Israel; and more.
Historical researcher Doron Geller writes that Eichmann's trial, "with the
Eichmann on trial in Jerusalem