Harel, Isser

(formerly Halperin)

(1912-2003)

   One of the founders of the Israeli intelligence service. He was born in Russia and immigrated (see ALIYA) to Palestine in 1931. He was one of the original founders of Kibbutz Shfaim and was active in the Ha-gana. During the War of Independence (1948^49), he headed the Hagana's Information Service (SHAI) and was a member of the National Command. In 1952, he was appointed head of the Mossad Lemodiin Vetafkidim Meyuhadim (the Mossad), the central intelligence and security service of Israel. During his service in this post, he commanded the special operation to capture the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. In 1963, he resigned his post over a disagreement with Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion on the question of German scientists in Egypt. In 1965, he was appointed as an intelligence consultant to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, but he resigned this post after a short tenure. Harel joined Ben-Gurion's newly created National List prior to the 1969 elections (see KNESSET ELECTIONS) and was one of four candidates from the party to be elected to the seventh Knesset. He failed to win reelection to the eighth Knesset in 1973 and spent the remainder of his life writing books relating to the security and intelligence of Israel. By far, his most famous work was The House on Garibaldi Street, which chronicled the 15-year investigation that culminated in the Mossad's capture of Eichmann in Argentina in 1960.