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Meir Amit

Meir Amit (Hebrew: מאיר עמית; born Meir Slutzky, 17 March 1921 – 17 July 2009) was an Israeli military officer, intelligence chief, and politician renowned for directing Mossad from 1963 to 1968, during which he modernized the agency and expanded its human intelligence capabilities in the Arab world.^[1]^[2] Born in Tiberias under the British Mandate, Amit rose through the ranks of the Haganah and IDF, commanding a Golani Brigade battalion in the 1948 War of Independence and later achieving the rank of major general.^[1]^[3] Prior to Mossad, he headed military intelligence (Aman) from 1962 to 1963, and under his Mossad leadership, the agency provided critical assessments that contributed to Israel's preemptive strike and victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.^[4]^[1] Amit, often hailed as Israel's most effective intelligence operative, forged international partnerships, including with Kurdish groups and foreign services, while overseeing high-profile operations that enhanced Mossad's global reputation.^[2]^[5] After leaving Mossad, he entered politics, serving in the Knesset and as a cabinet minister, though his later career was marked by unsuccessful bids for higher office.^[1]^[6]

Early Life

Childhood and Family Background

Meir Amit was born Meir Slutzky on March 17, 1921, in Tiberias, Mandatory Palestine, situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.^[2] ^[7] ^[8] His mother, Haya Slutzky, was involved in the Labour movement, embedding the family within the socioeconomic and ideological framework of Labor Zionism, which emphasized collective agricultural settlement and socialist principles amid the challenges of Jewish immigration and land reclamation in the region.^[7] Amit's early years unfolded in the Borochov neighborhood of Tiberias, a hub of Jewish communal life exposed to the realities of frontier existence, including periodic Arab-Jewish clashes that underscored the precarious security of Yishuv settlements.^[9] This environment, coupled with proximity to pioneering kibbutzim, fostered an appreciation for self-sufficient communal labor, values he later embodied by joining Kibbutz Alonim as a youth.^[1] ^[5] Consistent with the broader Zionist practice of Hebraization to revive Hebrew nomenclature and sever ties to diasporic identities, Slutzky adopted the surname Amit—meaning "my nation" or "truth"—during his early adulthood, marking a deliberate cultural and personal transformation aligned with national rebirth aspirations.^[8]^[1]

Pre-State Activism and Education

Amit enlisted in the Haganah, the clandestine Jewish defense organization under the Jewish Agency, at the age of 15.^[7] ^[10] His early roles involved local guard duties and basic training exercises, which were essential responses to persistent Arab attacks and British restrictions on Jewish self-defense during the Mandate period.^[1] These activities instilled a practical discipline that shaped his approach to security challenges, linking grassroots vigilance to broader Zionist preparedness.^[2] In 1939, Amit joined Kibbutz Alonim in the Lower Galilee, a settlement aligned with the Labor Zionist movement, where collective farming intertwined with Haganah-organized perimeter defense and arms caching.^[9] By the early 1940s, his commitment deepened into more intensive underground operations, including coordination of watch shifts and rudimentary intelligence gathering amid escalating intercommunal violence.^[11] This shift to full-time militia engagement, rather than civilian pursuits, reflected the exigencies of survival in a hostile environment and foreshadowed his later command style rooted in operational pragmatism over theoretical abstraction.^[12] Formal schooling remained truncated for Amit, confined largely to secondary-level studies interrupted by defense imperatives, compelling self-education through hands-on militia drills and kibbutz self-reliance.^[11] Absent structured academies, he cultivated strategic acumen via iterative field experience—analyzing patrol failures, resource allocation under scarcity, and adaptive tactics—which causally primed his affinity for empirical decision-making in high-stakes contexts.^[13] This experiential forge, unmediated by institutional dogma, underscored a lifelong emphasis on verifiable outcomes over rote ideology.^[10]

Military Service

War of Independence

During the prelude to full-scale war in late 1947, Amit, serving with the Haganah, took part in the defense of kibbutz Mishmar ha-Emek from April 4 to 15, 1948, where Israeli forces repelled an assault by the Arab Liberation Army's Yarmouk Battalion, preventing encirclement and securing the Jezreel Valley approaches despite being outnumbered.^[14]^[9] He also fought in related engagements across the Jezreel Valley, contributing to the stabilization of northern supply lines amid irregular Arab attacks that threatened Jewish settlements.^[14] Following Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, 1948, Amit integrated into the newly formed Israel Defense Forces and assumed command of a battalion in the Golani Brigade, focusing on northern operations to counter Syrian advances into the Galilee.^[1]^[3] His unit participated in the liberation of the Lower Galilee, repelling Syrian incursions that aimed to sever Israeli control over eastern approaches to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee, achieving defensive successes through coordinated infantry maneuvers that limited territorial losses.^[14] In October 1948, during Operation Hiram (October 28–31), Amit's battalion supported Golani's push northward, helping clear Arab Liberation Army forces from Upper Galilee villages, resulting in the capture of 200 square kilometers and the rout of approximately 15,000 irregular fighters with minimal Israeli casualties relative to enemy losses exceeding 400 killed.^[14] Amit's leadership exposed him to direct combat risks, including an incident where a Syrian sniper's bullet was deflected by his cigarette case, averting fatal injury and underscoring the personal hazards of frontline command in asymmetric engagements against invading armies.^[7] His tactical acumen in these Galilee campaigns, marked by effective battalion-level coordination under resource constraints, facilitated merit-driven promotions within the IDF's emerging structure, reflecting performance-based advancement amid the war's existential stakes.^[7]^[1]

Post-Independence Commands and Suez Crisis

Following Israel's independence in 1948, Meir Amit remained in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), advancing through command roles amid ongoing border threats from infiltrations and fedayeen attacks. In 1950, he assumed command of the Golani Brigade, an infantry unit tasked with defending northern sectors and conducting reprisal raids to deter cross-border aggression from Jordanian and Syrian territories.^[8] ^[9] These operations, often launched in response to civilian casualties and economic sabotage—such as the 1950s ambushes that killed over 400 Israelis—emphasized rapid, forceful countermeasures to impose costs on adversaries, adapting conventional infantry tactics to irregular warfare where numerical inferiority demanded preemptive strikes over static defense.^[9] By 1951, Amit was promoted to head the IDF Training Command while concurrently serving as chief of the General Staff's Operations Department, positions that centralized doctrine development and logistical preparation for multi-front contingencies.^[14] In this dual role, he oversaw the standardization of elite unit training and operational planning, fostering interoperability between infantry, armor, and airborne elements to address Israel's vulnerability to coordinated Arab assaults, as evidenced by the integration of lessons from early 1950s skirmishes into broader maneuver warfare exercises.^[1] Amit's ascent continued, reaching the rank of major general by the mid-1950s as chief of operations and deputy to IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan, enabling direct influence on high-level strategy against escalating Egyptian militarization under Gamal Abdel Nasser.^[1] ^[2] During the 1956 Sinai Campaign (Operation Kadesh), launched on October 29, Amit coordinated General Staff operations, including the sequencing of paratrooper drops at key junctions like Mitla Pass and armored advances that captured over 200 miles of territory in 100 hours, neutralizing Egyptian forces and reopening the Straits of Tiran.^[15] ^[16] His oversight ensured tactical synchronization—such as the initial airborne seizure of bridges followed by rapid ground exploitation—yielding strategic gains like the destruction of 200 Egyptian tanks and aircraft, though constrained by international pressure leading to withdrawal by March 1957.^[15] This demonstrated pragmatic adaptation, prioritizing decisive local superiority in maneuver over prolonged attrition amid Israel's resource asymmetries.^[16]

Intelligence Directorship

Leadership of AMAN

Meir Amit was appointed head of the Israel Defense Forces' Directorate of Military Intelligence (AMAN) in 1962, serving until 1963.^[7] His tenure followed a period of institutional challenges in military intelligence, including analytical shortcomings exposed in prior conflicts.^[17] Amit prioritized structural modernization, introducing U.S.-style management techniques to streamline operations and decision-making processes.^[7] He championed the integration of early computer systems, marking an initial "information revolution" that enabled more efficient handling of large-scale data for threat evaluation, shifting emphasis toward quantitative analysis of verifiable indicators over anecdotal reports.^[7] These reforms addressed persistent gaps in detecting Arab military mobilizations, particularly by enhancing signals intelligence capabilities to monitor empirical indicators of force concentrations and deployments.^[7] Amit's approach underscored causal linkages between observable military buildups—such as Egyptian-Syrian defense alignments post-1961—and potential multi-front escalations, fostering rigorous assessments grounded in intercepted communications and order-of-battle data rather than speculative human-source interpretations.^[7] This groundwork improved AMAN's capacity to quantify threats from coordinated Arab pacts, reducing vulnerabilities to surprise mobilizations.^[9]

Mossad Reforms and Operations

Meir Amit assumed the directorship of Mossad on December 1, 1963, succeeding Isser Harel amid internal tensions.^[7] He promptly initiated reforms to professionalize the agency, adopting a U.S.-style management approach that emphasized structured operations and accountability.^[7] Amit enhanced recruitment by integrating elite undercover operatives from military intelligence (Aman), thereby bolstering Mossad's human intelligence (HUMINT) expertise for penetrations into adversarial environments.^[7] He also incorporated technological advancements, including the installation of computers for data processing and analysis, which improved operational efficacy.^[7] During Amit's tenure, Mossad oversaw the exploitation of intelligence from agent Eli Cohen, who had infiltrated Syria's elite circles under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet.^[18] Cohen transmitted detailed reports on Syrian artillery positions and military infrastructure via Morse code until his arrest on January 18, 1965, and subsequent public execution by hanging on May 18, 1965, in Damascus.^[18]^[7] Amit expanded Mossad's international collaborations, exemplified by joint efforts with the CIA to dissect a MiG-21 jet defected by Iraqi pilot Munir Redfa on August 16, 1966, yielding insights into Soviet aircraft capabilities.^[7] The agency further disrupted arms supplies to Arab adversaries by covertly arming Kurdish insurgents in Iraq, thereby complicating Baghdad's military logistics.^[7] These initiatives strengthened Mossad's global networks and covert action capacity until Amit's resignation in 1968.^[9]

Intelligence for the Six-Day War

As Mossad director, Meir Amit directed human intelligence operations that penetrated Egyptian military structures, yielding detailed reports on troop concentrations in the Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt amassed seven divisions, approximately 100,000 troops, and over 900 tanks by late May 1967.^[5]^[1] These assessments highlighted the scale of Egyptian mobilization following the expulsion of UN peacekeepers and the blockade of the Straits of Tiran on May 22, 1967, countering internal Israeli debates marked by hesitation from figures like Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, who weighed diplomatic options amid fears of overmatching Arab numerical superiority.^[19] Amit's evaluations emphasized the narrowing window for Israeli action, as Arab forces integrated command structures and received Syrian and Jordanian reinforcements, framing the buildup not as mere posturing but as a credible invasion risk amplified by Nasser's rhetoric of Israel's destruction.^[20] Amit's efforts included a covert Mossad operation in Morocco, where agents, with King Hassan II's covert assistance, installed surveillance in a Rabat palace hosting an Arab summit on May 29-30, 1967.^[21] This yielded intercepted discussions revealing Arab coordination, including Egypt's directives for Syrian and Jordanian alignment, and confirmed Egyptian air defense vulnerabilities, which Amit later described as "one of the crowning glories of Israeli intelligence" in a memo to Eshkol. Complementing agent reports, aerial reconnaissance corroborated ground deployments, prompting Amit to advocate publicizing these photographs internationally to underscore the threat and pressure hesitant domestic factions, though Israeli leadership opted against it to preserve operational surprise.^[19] To align intelligence with military planning, Amit coordinated with IDF Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and Air Force Commander Mordechai Hod, funneling verified data on Egyptian airfield routines—such as dawn patrols and parked aircraft patterns—to enable Operation Focus, the June 5 preemptive strikes that destroyed 452 Arab planes on the ground within hours.^[22] His May 31-June 2, 1967, covert visit to Washington, using a false passport, involved meetings with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and CIA officials, where he outlined Israeli estimates of a swift victory in three to four weeks and gauged U.S. non-intervention, returning with assurance that America would not restrain Israel, which tipped cabinet deliberations toward authorization on June 4.^[20]^[23]^[7] In post-war reviews, Amit's intelligence framework validated preemption's causal efficacy in dismantling Arab offensive capabilities, with Egyptian losses exceeding 15,000 dead and 80% of their air force obliterated, establishing a decade-long deterrence against state-level assaults and refuting narratives minimizing Israel's strategic necessity amid verified mobilizations.^[1] This realist calculus prioritized empirical threat indicators over diplomatic illusions, underscoring how unchecked deployments would have eroded Israel's defensive depth.^[22]

International Relations and Nuclear Verification

Following the Six-Day War in June 1967, Meir Amit, as Mossad director, engaged in direct consultations with U.S. intelligence counterparts to exchange assessments on regional threats while preserving Israeli operational independence. He visited CIA Director Richard Helms at his home, fostering a channel for selective intelligence sharing that prioritized mutual interests without compromising Israel's sensitive capabilities.^[7] These interactions built on prior cooperation, such as the 1966 Operation Diamond, where Amit orchestrated the defection of Iraqi pilot Munir Redfa and a MiG-21 jet, promptly inviting CIA experts to Tel Aviv for technical examination, which solidified Mossad-CIA ties without revealing full operational details.^[1] ^[7] Amit extended Mossad's pragmatic outreach beyond the U.S., cultivating alliances with non-Arab states to counter Israel's isolation amid Arab hostility. He forged security ties with Morocco's services despite formal enmity, provided arms support to Iraqi Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani's guerrillas, and established cooperative links with intelligence agencies in Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, Iran, India, Turkey, and Indonesia.^[7] This diplomatic realism balanced covert operations—such as regional espionage—with restraint, avoiding escalatory adventurism that could provoke broader coalitions against Israel, as evidenced by Amit's emphasis on verifiable threat assessments over speculative risks in post-war evaluations.^[24] In parallel, Amit oversaw internal intelligence efforts to affirm the viability of Israel's nuclear infrastructure at Dimona, conducting empirical validations of reactor performance in the mid-1960s amid U.S. inspections that yielded inconclusive results due to restricted access.^[25] These assessments, leveraging on-site data and technical simulations, confirmed plutonium production potential despite American skepticism of Israel's peaceful-use declarations, enabling autonomous strategic deterrence without reliance on external verification.^[26] Amit's awareness of the program's weaponization trajectory informed Mossad's protective measures, shielding it from foreign penetration while integrating nuclear readiness into broader defense calculus during crises like the 1967 war preparations.^[24] This approach underscored causal prioritization of empirical self-reliance over diplomatic concessions, maintaining opacity to deter adversaries without confirmatory leaks.^[27]

Later Career

Industrial and Business Roles

Following his resignation from the Mossad directorship in 1968, Meir Amit assumed the role of managing director of Koor Industries, the industrial arm of Israel's Histadrut labor federation, serving from 1968 until 1977.^[7] ^[9] Koor operated as Israel's largest industrial conglomerate, encompassing over 200 companies in sectors such as metalworking, chemicals, construction materials, and consumer goods, with annual revenues exceeding $500 million by the early 1970s and employing approximately 50,000 workers.^[28] ^[29] Amit prioritized operational efficiency and expansion to bolster domestic manufacturing capabilities, drawing on his prior experience in structured organizational leadership to navigate the conglomerate's diverse portfolio amid economic challenges like inflation and import reliance.^[28] In a 1971 interview, he emphasized Koor's rapid postwar growth—averaging 15-20% annually—and its strategic diversification into export-oriented production to reduce foreign dependency, positioning the group as a pillar of Israel's self-sufficient industrial base.^[28] Under his tenure, Koor invested in technological upgrades and vertical integration, such as expanding steel and cement facilities, which supported defense-related supply chains without direct military oversight.^[29] Amit's approach at Koor reflected a broader commitment to economic resilience, treating industrial management as an extension of national security by fostering profitability and innovation in state-linked enterprises.^[30] This period marked his pivot from intelligence operations to applied business strategy, where he advocated for pragmatic reforms to enhance competitiveness in global markets.^[31]

Political Involvement

In 1976, Meir Amit left the Labour Party to co-found the centrist Democratic Movement for Change (Dash), motivated by dissatisfaction with Labour's handling of security and economic issues following the Yom Kippur War.^[7]^[9] This move reflected his pragmatic shift toward advocating robust defense policies and institutional reforms, prioritizing national security over partisan loyalty. Running on Dash's platform, which emphasized anti-corruption and strengthened military preparedness amid ongoing Arab-Israeli tensions, Amit secured a seat in the Ninth Knesset on June 13, 1977, as the party captured 15 mandates in the election that ended Labour's long dominance.^[1]^[32] Amit's political influence peaked when he joined Israel's first Likud-led coalition government under Prime Minister Menachem Begin, serving as Minister of Communications from October 24, 1977, to September 15, 1978.^[7] In this role, he focused on infrastructure projects critical to defense logistics, such as telecommunications enhancements for military coordination, while resisting pressures for territorial concessions that he viewed as undermining Israel's strategic deterrence.^[1] His alignment with Likud's security-oriented stance—despite his Labour roots—highlighted a realist conservatism, emphasizing empirical threats from hostile neighbors over ideological experiments in diplomacy, though he critiqued excessive influence from settler interests.^[7] Amit resigned from the cabinet in September 1978, citing frustrations with governmental subservience to domestic lobbies that he believed diluted focus on core security imperatives.^[7] ^[33] He subsequently withdrew from active politics, returning to private sector leadership in industry, where his experience as director of Koor Industries informed a preference for economic self-reliance over electoral uncertainties.^[34] This decision underscored a calculated assessment of political dynamics, favoring tangible contributions to Israel's resilience through business over prolonged partisan engagement.^[1]

Personal Life and Ideology

Family and Personal Interests

Meir Amit married Yona Kelman in 1941, and the couple had three daughters.^[8] Their family life remained stable and free of public scandals or noted personal failings, even as Amit's career involved prolonged absences and high-stakes risks in military intelligence.^[7] Amit's daughters and extended family provided consistent emotional support, with accounts from relatives highlighting his affectionate role as a grandfather who shared stories, recited Hebrew poems about Israel, and doted on great-grandchildren.^[10] In his private sphere, Amit developed a distinctive hobby of collecting dolls, initiated by a diplomatic gift from an Arab country during his intelligence tenure; he curated an extensive private collection from around the world, displaying it in a dedicated room at home as a form of personal relaxation.^[7]^[8] This pursuit contrasted sharply with his professional image but underscored a capacity for private detachment amid operational pressures.

Writings and Strategic Perspectives

In his post-retirement years, Meir Amit published memoirs titled ראש בראש (Rosh Be-Rosh, or Head to Head) in Hebrew in 1999, which detailed lessons drawn from his intelligence career emphasizing rigorous, evidence-based analysis of adversaries' capabilities and intentions.^[35] The work, later translated into English as A Life in Israel's Intelligence Service: An Autobiography and released in 2009, traces the evolution of Israel's intelligence apparatus under his leadership, underscoring the primacy of human sources and operational verification over speculative assessments to inform national strategy.^[36] ^[37] Amit's reflections advocated a doctrine of deterrence grounded in empirical data on enemy resolve, critiquing reliance on diplomatic assurances without parallel intelligence validation, as evidenced by his accounts of preemptive actions during the 1967 war.^[38] He argued that security policy must derive from causal chains linking observed military preparations to potential aggression, rather than normalized interpretations that minimize existential risks from state actors. This approach implicitly challenged media and academic tendencies to understate adversarial intentions, favoring instead unvarnished threat modeling derived from field-derived facts. Through these writings, Amit promoted a first-principles framework for intelligence: starting from verifiable inputs like agent reports and signals intercepts to construct predictive models, avoiding biases toward de-escalation that could erode Israel's qualitative edge.^[39] His emphasis on sustained vigilance post-victory highlighted the fallacy of assuming defeated foes abandon core objectives absent structural constraints, a perspective informed by decades of direct engagement rather than abstract peacemaking paradigms.

Death and Legacy

Final Years

Following his departure from politics in the early 1970s, Amit resided in Tel Aviv and maintained involvement in high-tech enterprises, holding senior executive roles that leveraged his expertise in management and strategy. He continued to offer insights on intelligence and national security matters, drawing on his extensive experience, though his public commentary diminished as health issues emerged in later decades.^[1] In recognition of his contributions to Israel's security apparatus, Amit was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement on May 7, 2003, alongside figures such as Geula Cohen, with the honor emphasizing his special service to the state.^[40] ^[10] Amit's health deteriorated due to a prolonged illness, leading to his death on July 17, 2009, at age 88 in Tel Aviv.^[41] ^[42]

Commemoration

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, established as part of the Israeli Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center, honors Amit's tenure as its chairman from 1985 until his death, focusing on documenting and analyzing terrorism threats to Israel.^[43] ^[44] Post-2009, the center has featured exhibits and plaques recognizing his leadership in building Israel's intelligence capabilities during critical periods like the Six-Day War.^[43] Amit's 2010 autobiography, A Life in Israel's Intelligence Service, published shortly after his passing, was supported by family efforts to preserve his accounts of Zionist security endeavors, emphasizing operational successes in Mossad and military intelligence.^[38] In the post-2020 era, amid heightened threats such as Hamas coordination with media outlets and Iranian-backed activities, the center named for Amit has issued targeted reports—over 100 annually on key incidents—reinforcing the ongoing relevance of his strategic foresight in counterterrorism.^[45] ^[46]

Achievements and Criticisms

Under Amit's leadership as Mossad director from 1963 to 1968, the agency underwent significant modernization, including enhanced collaboration with military intelligence to end internal rivalries and the establishment of ties with foreign services and non-state actors like the Kurds.^[2]^[8] This professionalization elevated Mossad's operational efficiency, enabling successes such as the infiltration of Syria via agent Eli Cohen, who provided detailed intelligence on military fortifications until his capture in 1965.^[13] Amit uniquely held concurrent roles as Mossad chief and head of military intelligence (Aman), streamlining Israel's intelligence apparatus during a period of existential threats.^[1] In the prelude to the 1967 Six-Day War, Amit's networks yielded precise data on Egyptian deployments, including air force vulnerabilities, which informed Israel's preemptive strikes that destroyed over 300 Arab aircraft on the ground in the war's opening hours on June 5.^[19] His clandestine May 1967 visit to Washington, using a false passport, secured tacit U.S. acquiescence for Israel's initiative, averting potential diplomatic isolation amid Soviet escalation warnings.^[23] Post-Mossad, Amit directed Israel Aircraft Industries from 1974, advancing indigenous production of systems like the Kfir fighter jet, which reduced reliance on foreign arms suppliers and enhanced defense self-sufficiency by the late 1970s.^[4] Criticisms of Amit centered on his 1968 resignation, prompted by clashes with Prime Minister Levi Eshkol over Mossad's autonomy and internal Labor Party maneuvering, where he refused politicization of intelligence.^[2] Predecessor Isser Harel leveled accusations of operational overreach, particularly in high-risk infiltrations, though these were unsubstantiated and stemmed from personal rivalries rather than verified failures.^[8] Claims of ethical lapses in aggressive operations, occasionally raised by left-leaning analysts questioning methods like agent recruitment in Arab states, lack empirical support given the causal link between Amit's intelligence—such as pre-war Egyptian order-of-battle details—and Israel's decisive victories with minimal initial losses (e.g., 338 IDF fatalities in the air campaign).^[19] Over-centralization risks under his dual-role tenure were theorized to concentrate power, yet outcomes demonstrated efficacy without systemic breakdowns, as evidenced by sustained Mossad successes into subsequent decades.^[47]

References

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Meir Amit - Jewish Virtual Library
Meir Amit was born Meir Slutzki on March 17, 1921. He was an Israeli politician, general, and Director of the Mossad. Meir Amit was born in Tiberias during ...
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Mossad's Meir Amit Born | CIE - Center for Israel Education
March 17, 1921 Meir Amit, a career soldier who builds the Mossad into an internationally renowned intelligence agency, is born Meir Slutzky on the shores.
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15 years since the passing of former Director of the Mossad and ...
Jul 17, 2024 · Meir was born in Tiberias in 1921. During the War of Independence, Amit commanded a battalion of soldiers in the Golani Brigade and participated ...
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Ex-Mossad, MI Chief Meir Amit Dies at 88 - Haaretz Com
Jul 19, 2009 · Amit also contributed to the Mossad's standing as a key intelligence organ whose precise information aided in Israel's victory in the 1967 Six- ...<|separator|>
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Israelis You Should Know: Meir Amit - IFCJ
Mar 17, 2017 · Head of the Mossad and a leading Israeli political figure, Meir Amit is considered the most successful intelligence officer in Israeli history.Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
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Meir Amit (Slutzki) (1921 - 2009) - Genealogy - Geni
Feb 27, 2025 · Israeli politician and cabinet minister. He served as the Chief Director and the head of global operations for Mossad from 1963 to 1968.
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Major General Meir Amit | Israel | The Guardian
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Jul 22, 2009 · Major-General Meir Amit, who died on July 17 aged 88, was a leading figure in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and, between 1963 and 1968, head of Mossad.<|separator|>
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Meir Amit: A Life of Service and Leadership | מורשת גדולי האומה
Meir Amit's military journey began in 1936 when he joined the "Haganah" organization during his high school years. In 1940, shortly after completing his studies ...<|separator|>
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Apr 15, 2021 · Meir Amit not only headed the Mossad and served in Israeli politics, but was the most successful intelligence officer in Israeli history.Missing: biography | Show results with:biography
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The kibbutznik spymaster that came in from the cold
Aug 22, 2022 · Even at the end of his life, Meir Amit (born Meir Amit Slutsky) ... Born on the Zemakh-Tiberias road, Amit learned hard work and teamwork.Missing: Slutzky | Show results with:Slutzky
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Amit (Slutzky), Meir - Encyclopedia.com
Amit was born in Tiberias. From 1939 to 1952 he was a member of kibbutz *Allonim. He joined the *Haganah in 1936, and from 1940 to 1945 served in the ...
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According to General Meir Amit, General Moshe Dayan's deputy and chief of Israeli army operations, the Egyptian army had made no real improvement over 1948 ...
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Meir Amit. 1959 - 1962. Maj. Gen. Chaim Herzog. 1955 - 1959. Maj. Gen. Yehoshafat Harkabi. 1950 - 1955. Col. Binyamin Gibli. 1949 - 1950. Col. Chaim Herzog.Missing: leadership 1961-1963 reforms
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Israeli Intelligence chief Meir Amit "proposed that Israel publish abroad aerial reconnaissance photographs of the massive Egyptian deployment…" with the idea ...
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Gen. Amit indicated that one of the great worries of Israel is the possibility of a pre-emptive air attack by the UAR which would cripple ...
[21]
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Jun 5, 2017 · Fifty years ago, war broke out between Israel and its neighbours. The conflict lasted just six days but its effect would last to the present day.
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Israel, the United States, and the Dimona Inspections, 1964-65
Nov 10, 2020 · ... Meir presented a cautious position on nuclear weapons. Eshkol affirmed that the Dimona complex was peaceful and Meir somewhat vaguely noted ...
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In the year and a half prior to the Six-Day War, Mossad Chief General Meir Amit promoted the establishment of a direct, secret channel with Egypt.
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May 16, 1971 · Managing dir M Amit discusses Koor Industries Ltd's rapid growth, diverse operations, position in Israeli econ and attempts to expand ...
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Ex-General Meir Amit, onetime head of Israel's intelligence service, last year took charge of Koor Industries, which is owned by the giant labor federation, ...
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The following year, aged 47, Amit retired from Mossad and became director-general of Koor industries, the largest industrial conglomerate in Israel. But he ...
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DMC also included several members of the Labor establishment such as Meir Amit (number three on the list), director of Koor, ... two cabinet ministers known for ...
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[PDF] 1978-09-15.pdf - CIA
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Meir Amit becomes Head of the “Mossad” - Center for Israel Education
After his military service, he heads some of Israel's top industries, contributing to the foundation in 1976 of the Democratic Movement for Change (Dash) ...Missing: activism | Show results with:activism
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[38]
A Life in Israel's Intelligence Service: An Autobiography - Meir Amit
Amit was the only person in Israel's history to have headed both the Mossad and the Military Intelligence (AMAN). He rose to command Israel's Military ...Missing: 1961-1963 reforms
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Bibliography - Nomos eLibrary
Amit, Meir. A Life in Israel's Intelligence Service: An Autobiography. London: Valentine Mitchell, 1995. Bar-Zohar, Michael. Iser Harel and Israel's ...
[40]
18 Outstanding Achievers Honored With Israel Prize - Haaretz Com
May 7, 2003 · Meir Amit, and another former MK, Geula Cohen, shared the life-time achievement prize. In her speech, Livnat said "the state of Israel must ...
[41]
Meir Amit passes away aged 88 | The Jerusalem Post
Jul 17, 2009 · Former Mossad chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) Meir Amit passed away on Friday at the age of 88 after a long illness.Missing: Aircraft Industries CEO
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Former Mossad Chief Meir Amit Dies at 88 - The Forward
Jul 17, 2009 · Meir Amit, the former head of the Mossad who is credited with modernizing Israel's feared intelligence agency, died on Friday due to a serious ...Missing: cause | Show results with:cause
[43]
Board - Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center
Meir Amit, former Head of IDF Intelligence and Head of the Mossad. He served as the Center´s Chairman from 1985, upon commencement of public operations ...
[44]
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center: Home
The American Twenty-Point Plan, which served as the basis for the ceasefire agreement to end the Gaza... Read More ...Missing: technology R&D
[45]
https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/documentary-evidence-of-hamas-al-jazeera-relations-and-cooperation/
[46]
Spotlight on Terrorism - September 2025
Oct 16, 2025 · The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center At the Israeli ...Missing: naming | Show results with:naming
[47]
The Rift Between the Israeli Army and Mossad Started Long Before ...
Oct 2, 2017 · Amit took the Mossad from the Middle Ages into the modern era. A different spirit now prevailed, devoted to preparing the IDF and cabinet for ...