Mossad

Mossad Merkazi Le-modiin U-letafkidim Meyuhadim is Hebrew for Central Institute for Intelligence and Security. As members of Israel's secret foreign intelligence service, Mossad agents have hunted down Nazi war criminals and coordinated countless sophisticated assassination attacks on Arab guerrilla leaders.

Mossad was founded in 1951 by Isser Harel, who served as director of the organization until 1963. It is complemented by the Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence service. Israel's government describes Mossad and Shin Bet assassinations of leaders of groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as counterterrorism, while Arab leaders have accused the agency of “state terrorism.”

Mossad made its reputation as a fierce spy corps with the May 11, 1960, kidnapping of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann from his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eichmann was brought to Israel to stand trial and was found guilty of and executed for crimes against humanity. In ...