The Early Years of the Israeli Intelligence Community
Keywords:
Israeli Intelligence, History of the Israeli Intelligence Community, David Ben-Gurion, Isser Harel, Jehoshaphat Harkavi, Meir Amit, Mossad, Relations within the Intelligence CommunityAbstract
The Israeli intelligence community experienced tension in relations between its components in the first two decades following its establishment – rivalry and competition characterized the relationship in the fifties and a harmonious relationship and deeper cooperation in the sixties.
This article describes the history of the intelligence community, the establishment of it by David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister, through the dominant period of Isser Harel, head of the Mossad, and strained relations with the head of Military Intelligence, Jehoshaphat Harkavi. Next, we describe the sharp change that occurred in the relations within the community during the time of Meir Amit, head of Military Intelligence and the Mossad.
Sources of the research are documents from the archives of Articles of the Israeli Army led by the two reports dealing with the functioning of the intelligence community (from 1957 and 1963), which were written by two different committees appointed by the prime minister. The article explores the background for the committee, what its recommendations were, and how and whether they were implemented.
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