Massad

Meir Amit was born Meir Slutzki on March 17, He was an Israeli politician, general, and Director of the Mossad. He joined the Haganah in the s and fought for them during the Arab-Israeli War. He remained in the military and rose through the ranks to become a major general and served as chief of staff to IDF commander Moshe Dayan.

General hofi

When he returned to Israel, Amit entered the Israeli intelligence community first as Major General and was appointed head of the IDF intelligence branch in and then succeeded Isser Harel as Mossad Director in He was the only person in Israel's history to hold the position of Mossad chief and head of military intelligence at the same time.

As Director of Mossad , he orchestrated many high profile operations. In , Israeli spy Eli Cohen managed to penetrate the highest levels of the Syrian government, though he was later detected and executed. In , Amit engineered the defection of a Maronite Iraqi pilot who flew the then new Mig, among the most modern of the U. Amit immediately shared the plane with the CIA, helping to cement the alliance between the two nations' intelligence agencies.

During the lead up to the Six-Day War in , Amit had a network of informants that permeated the entire Egyptian military, providing key details for Israel's pre-emptive strike on Egyptian air bases and subsequent ground offensive. Since his retirement from the Mossad , he continued to be an active voice in the intelligence community and did work for the Israeli government.

Following the lead of other former generals, Amit joined the Dash party and served in the Knesset. In , he was awarded the Israel Prize for his lifetime achievements and special contributions to society and the State of Israel. Amit was later the chairman of Israel's Center for Special Studies. Sources: Wall Street Journal , Wikipedia.

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