These bombs “had two clear advantages” Interview with Kfir, June 9, 2011.
The Israelis did manage to maim a couple of militants Bassam Abu Sharif, the spokesman for the PFLP, for example, sustained facial wounds and lost several fingers when he opened a copy of Che Guevara’s memoirs. Merari and Elad, International Dimension of Palestinian Terrorism, 119. Bechor, PLO Lexicon, 25.
fingers were pointed at the intelligence community On one occasion during that period, the Mossad decided to take direct action in Beirut. Another PFLP spokesman, a well-known writer and poet named Ghassan Kanafani, made the Mossad hit list after he was identified in photographs taken with the Japanese Red Army militants shortly before they set out. On July 8, 1972, six weeks after the slaughter at Lod, Kanafani and his seventeen-year-old niece, Lamees Najim, got into his Austin 1100, which blew up when he turned the ignition. The fact that the Mossad killed an innocent young girl whose only sin was getting into the wrong car with the wrong man was never discussed or investigated. Interviews with Harari, March 23, 2014, and “Ethan,” July 2014.
In order to do that Interviews with Harari, March 23, 2014, and “Kurtz,” October 2005.
at a secret meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security, October 9, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
“ ‘the land shall have rest for forty years’ ” Quotation as recalled in November 2012 by “Dark Chocolate,” a member of Caesarea in the 1970s.
The nucleus of Bayonet Interview with “Shaul,” June 2017.
“All of this is not simple. It’s not our country” Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security, protocol of session on October 9, 1972, 10.
“We respected the prime minister’s policy” Zamir, With Open Eyes, 67 (Hebrew).
speedy movement from rest to a firing position Beckerman’s instinct shooting is also used by undercover Shin Bet air marshals who fly on El Al flights. Beckerman’s technique is now taught in the secret Shin Bet firing range east of Tel Aviv. The range is built like a series of mazes, separated into rooms and staircases with nooks and crannies where cardboard enemies are hidden. It’s covered with a reinforced glass ceiling through which instructors can view trainees while they give commands over loudspeakers. The mazes are constructed so trainees can fire live ammunition in any direction, and sensors and cameras record every shot. Author’s visit to the Shin Bet firing range, May 2005.
Then recruits needed training in one more skill: makeup Interview with Yarin Shahaf, January 22, 2013. During the high time of fighting terror, in mid-1972, Harari changed the name of Caesarea to Masada, after the isolated mountaintop fortress in the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea. This was where the last of the Jewish rebels against the Roman Empire in the first century C.E. took refuge and held the besieging Roman legions at bay, ultimately choosing to commit suicide, together with their women and children, rather than surrender and become slaves. Masada is a symbol of heroism that is an important part of the Israelis’ ethos of independence, signifying a readiness to sacrifice through which “Masada shall not fall again.” Down the road, the unit’s name would be changed several times. To avoid confusion, it is called Caesarea throughout this book.
eight members of Black September arrived at a training camp Sayigh, Armed Struggle, 309.
chosen for a variety of reasons Personal details of the Black September operatives taken from the great reporting about the Munich attack by Shai Fogelman, “Back to the Black September,” Haaretz Weekly Magazine, August 31, 2012.
Palestinian agent code-named Lucifer Interview with “Ethan,” July 2014.
As she had done in every case during her term as prime minister Goldstein, Golda: A Biography, 525 (Hebrew).
“In the Sabena affair, they let me work properly” Interview with Victor Cohen, May 27, 2015.
left a deep impression in Zamir’s mind Zamir, With Open Eyes, 69.
Cohen took the megaphone Interview with Victor Cohen, May 27, 2015.
one of the German pilots crying out for help Security Cabinet meeting, September 6, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
“on a mountaintop visible from all corners of the globe” Al-Sayyid, September 13, 1972, as quoted in Merari and Elad, International Dimension of Palestinian Terrorism, 35.
Meir also ordered air strikes Secret annex to cabinet decision following the Munich attack, Michael Arnon to Defense Minister, September 11, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”). The Palestinians claimed that two hundred civilians were killed in these attacks, among them women and children. Israel denied this. Fogelman, Haaretz Weekly Magazine, August 21, 2012.
“The German disgrace is immeasurable” Security Cabinet meeting, September 6, 1972, 5 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
At a secret meeting of the Knesset panel Meeting of Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, protocol no. 243, November 3, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
Meir, heavily criticized for the failure of the intelligence organizations Meeting of Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, protocol no. 243, November 3, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
CHAPTER 10: “I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH ANYONE THAT I’VE KILLED”
“The Beautiful Sarah” Interview with “Black,” November 2015. An account that is similar in some of the details appears in Klein, Striking Back, 117–18.
he had spent the evening at the home of his friend Letter from Peter Manning, a biographer of Janet Venn-Brown, to the author, October 20, 2015. Interview with Peter Manning, December 24, 2015.
The Mossad also suspected Zwaiter Although the attempt was foiled (the booby-trapped record player taken onto the plane exploded in midair, but the pilot managed to land safely) and the two Palestinian terrorists who persuaded the two European tourists to take it aboard were captured and tried, Prime Minister Golda Meir was certain that the Italians would surrender to pressure and release them. “The Italians are sitting and shivering,” she said. She was proved correct shortly afterward when the Italian government, under pressure from the PLO, released them. Protocol of cabinet meeting, November 5, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
None of them had been caught Since its inception, the Mossad has stirred great interest from around the world and a seemingly insatiable thirst for stories about its exploits. Films, books, and television dramas purportedly offering an insider’s look at the organization regularly top bestseller lists. One story in particular seems to hold an enduring fascination—the one behind Golda Meir’s order to target and assassinate Palestinian terrorist operatives in Europe in the early 1970s. Perhaps the best-known portrayal of this story is Steven Spielberg’s 2005 feature Munich, starring Eric Bana and Daniel Craig, which was nominated for five Academy Awards. The connection between the movie—as well as most of the other accounts of the operations, which all lack references and footnotes (except for the great reporting in Aaron Klein’s Striking Back)—and reality is very slim. The movie is based on the outcome of a book written by George Jonas, who reportedly relied on the account of one Juval Aviv, supposedly the lead assassin of the group. Aviv’s credentials as a former Mossad agent have been the subject of much skepticism. Even the code name of the operation that has been given in the various publications—“God’s Wrath”—is incorrect, according to all those who actually took part in it and who spoke about it for this book and for Klein’s books. Interviews with Yuval Aviv, December 1995, November 6, 2005. Letter from Aviv to the author, November 7, 2005, about his connections with Spielberg and DreamWorks. Most of Yuval Aviv’s material is discussed in Ronen Bergman, “Living in a Movie,” Yedioth Ahronoth, December 2, 2005. Spielberg responded by saying that the film was based on the best information that could be obtained publicly. Ofer Shelah, “Save Munich,” Yedioth Ahrono
th, February 17, 2006. More details appeared in Chris Thompson, “Secret Agent Schmuck,” Village Voice, October 16, 2007.
“Those who harm the Jews first” Yedioth Ahronoth, March 6, 1973.
This policy change had a significant effect on Caesarea’s operations Interviews with Harari, March 10, 2014, Klein, October 6, 2014, Kurtz, October 2005, and “Black,” November 2015.
in Europe it was a lot easier to kill a man Interview with “Salvador,” May 2012.
anyone suspected of belonging to the PLO…became a legitimate target Mossad chief Zamir would claim later that the assassinations were not motivated by a desire for vengeance, but were meant to prevent future terrorist attacks. However, this is difficult to reconcile with what Zamir’s subordinates say. Most of them stated explicitly that revenge was on their minds when they set out on a hit operation. One of them observed drily, “It had to be made clear that anyone who kills Jews becomes a legitimate target.” The heads of the Mossad who replaced Zamir, Nahum Admoni and Meir Dagan, said that revenge was one of the motives for the assassinations in the 1970s. Interviews with “Black,” June 2015, Nahum Admoni, May 29, 2011, and Dagan, May 29, 2013. Interview with Zvi Zamir in Yossi Melman, “Golda Gave No Order,” Haaretz, February 17, 2006.
“We wanted to create a noisy effect” Interviews with “Black,” November 2015, and Harari, April 11, 2014.
“Those words…roused a sense of pride in us” Interview with “Kurtz,” October 2005.
The leader of the hit teams There are contradictory indications as to whether Meiri was ever officially appointed to head Bayonet as he himself and some Mossad sources asserted, or was rather named field commander of some of the team’s ops, as claimed by Harari. Certain differences and disagreements between the two men emerged over the years. Interviews with “Shaul,” June 2017, Nehemia Meiri, June 12, 2012, and Harari, March 10, 2014.
He was twelve years old Interviews with Nehemia Meiri, June 12, 2012, and Haber, June 21, 2009. Recording of conversation between Nehemia Meiri and journalist Eitan Haber (author’s archive, conveyed by Moshe Meiri).
“with a knife between his teeth” Interview with “Shaul,” June 2017.
“in order to create a killing machine” Interview with Haber, June 21, 2009.
“I dream at night about my family” Interview with Nehemia Meiri, June 12, 2012.
Meiri was one of the men who shot Zwaiter After Harari resigned from his post as head of Caesarea in 1980, the unit presented him with a special parting gift—the Beretta pistol with which Meiri had dispatched Zwaiter, set on a framed plaque with a dedication from his operatives. Harari kept it on a prominent shelf in his living room.
The Mossad blamed him for a conspiracy Aaron Klein, Striking Back, 130–31.
She invited Harari to her home Interview with Harari, March 10, 2014.
her minister for religious affairs, Zerach Warhaftig The final go-ahead for the Hamshari hit was pushed forward when on November 29, Black September hijacked a Lufthansa plane en route from Beirut to Frankfurt. The Germans immediately freed the three Munich Olympic terrorists still in prison; they were flown to Libya, where they received a royal welcome. The circumstances of the hijacking roused suspicions that it had been coordinated with the Germans to provide a pretext to release the athletes’ murderers. The level of anger in Israel soared, with ministers especially furious over the German government spokesman’s statement that “Germany didn’t cause the Middle East conflict.” Minister Warhaftig stated, “The murder of six million Jews did have an effect on the Middle East conflict.” After that cabinet meeting, Warhaftig approached Meir and urged her to approve more targets for assassinations. Interview with “Toblerone,” January 2014. “Germany’s Secret Contacts with Palestinian Terrorists,” Der Spiegel, August 28, 2012.
broke into Hamshari’s apartment In an era when miniature communications devices were not yet available, in order to warn of dangers from the outside without making a noise, the commander of the unit, Zvi Malchin, contrived a small box that could be hung on the belt, and which vibrated when a radio signal was sent on a certain wavelength. This, in fact, may have been the first beeper.
Hamshari was “almost cut in half” Interview with “Kurtz,” October 2005. The day after Hamshari was killed, someone made an anonymous phone call to Ankie Spitzer, the widow of Andre Spitzer, a fencing coach who was among the Munich victims. “Listen to the news at ten,” said the caller. “It’s for Andre.” Interview with Ankie Spitzer, February 22, 2012. Klein, Striking Back, 129–33.
“In Caesarea there were no born killers” Interview with Harari, March 10, 2014.
Mossad chief Zamir also knew that having Meir’s backing was important From accounts given by Director Zvi Zamir to the Mossad’s history department, quoted in Zamir, With Open Eyes, 76–80.
“I sit facing them…full of wonder at their courage” Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security, protocol of session on November 3, 1972 (author’s archive, received from “Paul”).
“we didn’t know why we were killing them” Interview with “Black,” June 2015.
“it was a terrible mistake” Interview with “Iftach,” May 22, 2011.
insisted that Zwaiter was a peaceable intellectual Some additional bolstering for the Palestinian claims came in a surprising 1993 interview of Aharon Yariv, Meir’s adviser on counterterrorism, by the BBC. Yariv admitted for the first time that the Mossad was behind the assassinations and contradicted the Mossad’s claims regarding Zwaiter when he said, “He had a certain connection to terror. Not on the operational side.” Similar doubts were also raised by Aaron Klein in his book Striking Back, 119.
But for some, that didn’t matter Interview with “Select,” April 2011.
The problem inherent in this approach It was clear that during the first months of the Mossad’s assassinations in Europe, the Palestinians remained unfazed and continued to step up terrorism in Europe and elsewhere. They staged attacks against El Al offices, sent out explosive packages, ambushed Israeli representatives and, at their height, seized the Israeli embassy in Bangkok and its staff. Merari and Elad, International Dimension of Palestinian Terrorism, 17 (Hebrew).
it had not damaged the top echelons of the PLO Fatah also fought back against the Mossad, and in January 1973 managed to turn two Palestinian agents whom Junction was running. One of them drew a pistol during a meeting with his controller, Tzadok Ofir, and shot and wounded him; the other killed his Mossad case officer, Baruch Cohen, during a meeting in Madrid. In Israel, these incidents only served to prove that the assassination campaign had to be intensified. Interviews with Gideon Ezra, February 4, 1999, Sutton, May 9, 2012, and Alpher, May 18, 2015. Klein, Striking Back, 142–47.
Three days after his message requesting a meeting Interview with Francis, February 2005.
crafted a cover story Yael was given a brief training course in the ways a writer lives and works by Shabtai Tevet, senior journalist for the Haaretz newspaper, the biographer of Ben-Gurion, and a friend of Harari’s.
carrying a handbag with a camera inside it Caesarea file of intelligence gathered before Operation Spring of Youth, including photographs that Yael took while in Beirut, is in author’s archive (received from “Gustav”).
“Every detail was important” Mass, Yael, the Mossad Warrior in Beirut, 66 (Hebrew) (uncensored draft manuscript in author’s archive, received from “Maurice”).
Romi and Harari came to an unavoidable conclusion Interview with Harari, March 23, 2014. Klein, Striking Back, 157–61.
Sayeret Matkal was set up in the late 1950s Dar to CoS, Chief of AMAN and Commander of Unit 131, “Setting the Ground of the Establishment of Undercover Mista’ravim Unit,” October 2, 1955 (author’s archive, received from Avraham Dar).
install highly sophisticated listening and observation devices The listening devices were operat
ed for lengthy periods thanks to nuclear batteries that were supplied by the Jewish American scientist Zalman Shapiro, owner of the NUMAC company of Pennsylvania. Interviews with Amit, June 6, 2005, and Amiram Levin, July 16, 2017. Ronen Bergman, “The Nuclear Batteries and the Secret Listening Devices,” Yedioth Ahronoth, June 6, 2017.
Barak pushed for Sayeret Matkal to be a bigger part of IDF operations Barak was right to exert this aggressive push to be integrated into IDF operations. In the course of time, Sayeret Matkal became synonymous with excellence, determination, and originality. Unit veterans went on to top positions in the military and became part of the Israeli elite after their release. Ehud Barak, who later served as chief of the General Staff (CoG), went into politics and became defense minister and prime minister. Uzi Dayan became deputy CoS, and as a civilian, head of the National Security Council. Danny Yatom became director of the Mossad. Shaul Mofaz became CoS and defense minister. Moshe Yaalon became CoS, minister of defense, and vice premier to Benjamin Netanyahu, himself another veteran of the Sayeret. A report compiled by the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth in late 2012 revealed that substantial parts of the centers of economic, social, security, and political power in Israel were manned by former soldiers of the Sayeret Matkal, which is no bigger than a single battalion.
“a look of satisfaction spread across Barak’s face” Betser, Secret Soldier, 143 (Hebrew).
Elazar smiled and gave Barak the green light Interviews with Amnon Biran, June 5, 2011, and Barak, November 24, 2013.
The plan for Operation Spring of Youth This wasn’t the first time the IDF was operating against PLO targets in Lebanon, but it had never done so on such a large scale, requiring combined forces, including the Mossad. For information on previous attacks in Lebanon (Operation Bardas) see Nadel, Who Dares Wins, 198–235 (Hebrew). On the planning of Spring of Youth, see Betser, Secret Soldier, 109–14 (Hebrew). Operations Division, Spring of Youth, April 9, 1973, MODA 580-75-401. Interview with Barak, July 1, 2013.
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