State of Israel
Geography
Land of Israel · Districts · Cities Transportation · Mediterranean Dead Sea · Red Sea · Sea of Galilee Jerusalem · Tel Aviv · Haifa Image File history File links Coat_of_arms_of_Israel. ... Anthem(s): Hatikvah (The Hope) Capital Jerusalem [1] Largest city Jerusalem Official language(s) Hebrew, Arabic Government Parliamentary democracy  - President Moshe Katsav  - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Independence From the United Kingdom   - Declaration 14 May 1948 (05 Iyar 5708)  Area  - Total 22,1451 km² (151th) 8,5501 sq mi   - Water (%) ~2... Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ... Satellite image of the Land of Israel in January 2003, including portions of the State of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. ... Map of the districts of Israel There are six main districts of Israel, known in Hebrew as mehozot (מחוזות; singular: mahoz) and fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (נפות; singular: nafa). ... Cities in Israel, by district: // Northern District See also North District, Israel. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... The Dead Sea (Hebrew: ); (Arabic: ‎) is both the second lowest point on the Earth at 418 metres (1,371 ft) below sea level and falling[2], and the deepest hypersaline lake in the world at 330 m (1,083 ft) deep. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... The Sea of Galilee with the Jordan River flowing out of it to the south and into the Dead Sea Kineret redirects here; for the Amgen drug having this tradename, see Anakinra The Sea of Galilee is Israels largest freshwater lake, approximately 53 kilometers (33 miles) in circumference, about... Panoramic view from Mt. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
History
Jewish history · Timeline · Zionism · Aliyah Herzl · Balfour · Mandate · 1947 UN Plan Independence · Flag · Austerity · Refugees This article describes the history of the modern State of Israel, from its Independence Proclamation in 1948 to the present. ... Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ... This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ... Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is... Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ... Theodor Herzl, in his middle age. ... The Balfour Declaration of 1917 was made in a letter dated November 2, 1917, from the British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Lord Rothschild (Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild), a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation, a private Zionist organization, on the partitioning... Flag Palestine and Transjordan were incorporated (under different legal and administrative arrangements) into the British Mandate of Palestine, issued by the League of Nations to Great Britain on 29 September, 1923 Capital Not specified Organizational structure League of Nations Mandate High Commissioner  - 1920 — 1925 Sir Herbert Louis Samuel  - 1945 — 1948... On 29 November 1947 the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181, a plan to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the British Mandate of Palestine, was approved by the United Nations General Assembly, at the UN World Headquarters in New York. ... Flag ratio: 8:11 Another common colorization of the flag, using lighter blue. ... Main article: History of Israel Austerity in Israel: From 1949 to 1959, the state of Israel was, to a varying extent, under a regime of austerity (צנע tsena), during which rationing and similar measures were enforced. ...
Arab-Israeli conflict · Proposals
1948 War · 1949 Armistice · Suez War Six-Day War · Attrition War Yom Kippur War · Lebanon War Israel-Lebanon conflict Peace treaties with: Egypt, Jordan Combatants Arab nations Israel Arab-Israeli conflict series History of the Arab-Israeli conflict Views of the Arab-Israeli conflict International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict Arab-Israeli conflict facts, figures, and statistics Participants Israeli-Palestinian conflict · Israel-Lebanon conflict · Arab League · Soviet Union / Russia · Israel and the United... Geneva Accord October 20, 2003 Road Map for Peace April 30, 2003 The Peoples Voice July 27, 2002 Elon Peace Plan 2002 ... Combatants  Israel Egypt Syria Transjordan  Lebanon Saudi Arabia Iraq Holy War Army Arab Liberation Army Commanders Yaakov Dori Yigael Yadin Glubb Pasha Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni† Hasan Salama Fawzi al-Qawuqji Strength 29,677 initially–108,300 by December 1948 Egypt: 10,000 initially rising to 20,000 Iraq... The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and its neighbors Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. ... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 300,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA 2,900 WIA 2... Combatants Israel Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Mordechai Hod, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 264,000 (incl. ... Combatants Israel Egypt Soviet Union Strength unknown Egyptian: unknown Soviet: 10,700–12,300 Casualties 367 killed more than 3,000 wounded 10,000 Egyptian soldiers and civilians killed¹ 3 Soviet pilots killed The War of Attrition (Hebrew: )(Arabic: ‎) was a limited war fought between Egypt and Israel from 1968... Combatants Israel Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Commanders Moshe Dayan David Elazar Ariel Sharon Shmuel Gonen Benjamin Peled Israel Tal Rehavam Zeevi Aharon Yariv Yitzhak Hofi Rafael Eitan Abraham Adan Yanush Ben Gal Saad El Shazly Ahmad Ismail Ali Hosni Mubarak Mohammed Aly Fahmy Anwar Sadat Abdel Ghani el-Gammasy Abdul... Combatants Israel Phalange South Lebanon Army Amal PLO Syria Commanders Menachem Begin (Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon, (Ministry of Defence) Rafael Eitan, (CoS) Yasser Arafat Strength 76,000 37,000 Casualties 670 9,800 The 1982 Lebanon War (Hebrew: , Milkhemet Levanon, Milkhemet Levanon, Arabic: ‎), called by Israel the Operation Peace of... Combatants Hezbollah Israel Commanders Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General) Dan Halutz (CoS) Moshe Kaplinsky[5] Udi Adam (Regional) Strength 1,000-10,000[2] militants 30,000 ground troops [6] (plus IAF & ISC) Casualties Hezbollah militia:  Dead:    Hezbollah: 74[3]    IDF: 540[4]  Captured: 21 Allied militia:   Amal: 17[3]   LCP...
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Timeline · Peace process · Peace camp 1st Intifada · Oslo · 2nd Intifada Terrorism · Barrier · Disengagement The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a part of the greater Arab-Israeli conflict, is an ongoing dispute between the State of Israel and Palestinian people. ... This is an incomplete timeline of notable events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... The UN Partition Plan Map of the State of Israel today The Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has taken shape over the years, despite the ongoing violence in the Middle East. ... The Israeli peace camp is a collection of political and non-political movements which desire to promote peace, mainly with the Arab neighbours of Israel (the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon) and encourage co-existence with the Arab citizens of Israel. ... The First Intifada, or Palestinian uprising refers to a series of violent incidents between Palestinians and Israelis between 1987 and approximately 1990. ... The Oslo Accords, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DOP), were finalized in Oslo, Norway on August 20, 1993, and subsequently officially signed at a public ceremony in Washington D.C. on September 13, 1993, with Mahmoud Abbas signing for the... Combatants  Israel  Palestinian Authority: Several Palestinian militant groups Commanders Ehud Barak Ariel Sharon Ehud Olmert Yassar Arafat Casualties 1,017 Israeli dead. ... Since the failure of the Camp David Summit in the summer of 2000, many acts of terrorism were committed by individuals, militant Palestinian groups, and members of the Palestinian National Authority against Israeli civilians. ... The barrier route as of May 2005. ... Israels unilateral disengagement plan (termed in Hebrew: תוכנית ההתנתקות Tokhnit HaHitnatkut or תכנית ההינתקות Tokhnit HaHinatkut in the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law), also known as the disengagement plan, Gaza Pull-Out plan, and Hitnatkut) was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government and enacted in August 2005, to...
Economy
Science & technology · Companies Tourism · Wine · Diamonds Military industry This article does not cite its references or sources. ... . ... Tourism in Israel includes a rich variety of historical and religious sites in the Holy Land, as well as modern beach resorts, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism and ecotourism. ... The Israeli wine industry is known for its vibrancy, with wineries numbering in the hundreds and ranging in size from small boutique enterprises making a few thousand bottles per year to the largest producing over ten million bottles per year. ... The Israeli Diamond industry is a world leader in producing cut diamonds for wholesale. ... The Military equipment of Israel includes a wide array of arms, tanks, planes, cannons, armored vehicles. ...
Demographics · Culture
Religion · Israeli Arabs · Kibbutz Music · Archaeology · Universities Hebrew · Literature · Sport · Israelis This article discusses the demographics of Israel. ... The culture of Israel, also called Israeli culture, is inseparable from long history of Judaism and Jewish history which preceded it (i. ... Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs of Israel or Arab population of Israel are terms used by Israeli authorities and Israeli Hebrew-speaking media to refer to non-Jewish Arabs who are citizens of the State of Israel. ... Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective intentional community. ... Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Jewish immigrants (see Jewish music) from more than 120 countries around the world, which have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. ... The archaeology of Israel is a national passion that also attracts considerable international interest on account of the regions Biblical links. ... There are eight official universities in Israel. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Israeli literature is the literature of the people or State of Israel. ...
Laws · Politics
Law of Return · Jerusalem Law Parties · Elections · PM · President Knesset · Supreme Court · Courts The Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israels uncodified constitution. The State of Israel has no formal constitution. ... Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Israeli Knesset on July 30, 1980 (17th Av, 5740). ... Political parties in Israel: Israels political system is based on proportional representation which allows for a multi-party system with numerous parties, in which a single party usually has no chance of gaining power by itself, forcing the parties to cooperate and form coalition governments. ... Elections in Israel gives information on election and election results in Israel. ... The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. ... President of the State of Israel (Hebrew: נשיא המדינה, Nasi Hamedina) is the head of state of Israel, but has a largely ceremonial, figurehead role with real power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister of Israel. ... The modern Knesset building, Israels parliament, in Jerusalem Though similar-sounding, Beit Knesset (בית כנסת) literally means House of Assembly, and refers to a synagogue. ... The Supreme Court (Hebrew: בית המשפט העליון, Beit Hamishpat Haelyon ) is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel. ... Judicial branch is an independent branch of the government which includes secular and religious courts. ...
Foreign affairs
Intl. Law · UN · US · Arab League High priorities in the foreign policy of Israel include seeking an end to hostilities with Arab forces, against which it has fought six wars since 1948 and gaining wide acceptance as a sovereign state with an important international role. ... Arguments about the applicability of various elements of international law underlie the debate around the Arab-Israeli conflict. ... Israel and the United Nations have had very mixed relations, since the states founding on May 14, 1948. ... Israel-United States relations have evolved from an initial United States policy of sympathy and support for the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 to an unusual partnership that links a small but militarily powerful Israel, dependent on the United States for its economic and military strength, with the... From the time it was established in March 1945, the Arab League took an active role in the Arab-Israeli conflict. ...
Security Forces
Israel Defense Forces Intelligence Community · Security Council Police · Border Police · Prison Service The Israeli Security Forces (ISF) are several organizations collectively responsible for Israels security. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ×”×’× ×” לישראל  , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels military forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy. ... The Israeli Intelligence Community (Hebrew: קהילת המודיעין הישראלית) is the designation given to the complex of organizations responsible for intelligence collection, dissemination, and research for the State of Israel. ... The Israeli National Security Council (Hebrew: המועצה לביטחון לאומי) is a council established by the Prime Ministers Office in 1999 during the prime ministership of Binyamin Netanyahu in the framework of drawing lessons from the Yom Kipur War. ... The Israel Border Police (Hebrew: משמר הגבול, Mishmar HaGvul) is the combat branch of the Israeli Police. ... The Israel Prison Service (Hebrew: שירות בתי הסוהר, Sherut Batei HaSohar), commonly known by its acronym, Shabas, is the Israeli prison service. ...
Portal:Israel
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The Lavon Affair refers to the scandal over a failed Israeli covert operation in Egypt known as Operation Suzannah, in which Egyptian, American and British-owned targets in Egypt were bombed in the summer of 1954. It became known as the Lavon Affair after the Israeli defense minister Pinhas Lavon, who was forced to resign because of the incident, or cryptically as The Unfortunate Affair (Hebrew: עסק הביש Esek HaBish). Covert operations are military or political The tac. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pinhas Lavon (born July 12, 1904 in Kopychintsy in what was previously Galicia and is now in Ukraine, died January 24, 1976 in Tel Aviv, Israel) was an Israeli politician and labor leader. ... Look up cryptic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hebrew redirects here. ...

Operation Suzannah

In the early 1950s the United States began pressuring the British to withdraw from the Suez Canal^{[citation needed]}, and thereby abandon two operative treaties, the Convention of Constantinople and the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 that made the canal a neutral zone under British control. Israel was strongly opposed to the British withdrawal, as it feared that it would remove a moderating effect on Nasser's military ambitions, especially toward Israel, but diplomatic methods failed to sway the British. In the summer of 1954 Colonel Binyamin Gibli, the chief of Israel's military intelligence, Aman, initiated Operation Suzannah in order to reverse that decision. The goal of the Operation was to carry out bombings and other acts of sabotage in Egypt with the aim of creating an atmosphere in which the British and American opponents of British withdrawal from Egypt would be able to gain the upper hand and block the withdrawal.^[1] Ships moored at El Ballah during transit The Suez Canal (Arabic: ‎, translit: ), is a large artificial maritime canal in Egypt west of the Sinai Peninsula. ... See treaty text at wikisource:Constantinople Convention of the Suez Canal The Convention of Constantinople was a treaty signed by Great Britain, Germany, Austro-Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, and Turkey on March 2, 1888. ... In 1936 a treaty between Britain and Egypt was signed which became known as the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. ... Gamal Abdel Nasser (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر) Gamal Abdel Nasser (January 15, 1918 - September 28, 1970) was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib and is considered one of the most important Arab leaders in history. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Col. ... Aman badge Aman (אמן) is the Hebrew abbreviation for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Directorate of Military Intelligence (אגף המודיעין), Israels central, overarching military intelligence. ...

The top-secret cell, Unit 131, which was to carry out the operation, had existed since 1948 and under Aman since 1950. At the time of Operation Suzannah, Unit 131 was the subject of a bitter dispute between Aman and Mossad over who should control it. For the Haganah branch responsible for coordinating Jewish immigration into the British Mandate of Palestine, see Mossad Lealiyah Bet   (Hebrew: המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, often referred to as Mossad, meaning The Institute) is Israels intelligence agency and is responsible for intelligence collection, counter-terrorism, covert...

Unit 131 operatives had been recruited several years before, when the Israeli intelligence officer Avram Dar arrived in Cairo under a British cover. He had recruited several Egyptian Jews who had previously been active in illegal emigration activities and trained them for covert operations. Nickname: Al Qahirah (The Triumphant City) Cairos location in Egypt Coordinates: Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area    - City 210 km²  - Metro 1,492 km² Population  - City 7,438,376  - Density 35,420/km²  - Urban 10,834,495  - Metro 15,200,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2) EEST (UTC+3... Covert operations are military or political activities that are not only clandestine (undertaken in a manner that disguises the identity of the perpetrators) but also covert, i. ...

Aman decided to activate the network in the spring of 1954. On July 2, a post office in Alexandria was firebombed, and on July 14, the U.S. Information Agency libraries in Alexandria and Cairo, and a British-owned theater were bombed. The homemade bombs, consisting of bags containing acid placed over nitroglycerine, were inserted into books, and placed on the shelves of the libraries just before closing time. Several hours later, as the acid ate through the bags, the bombs would explode. They did little damage to the targets and caused no injuries or deaths. Egyptian authorities arrested one suspect, Robert Dassa, when his bomb accidentally ignited prematurely in his pocket. Having searched his apartment, they found incriminating evidence and names of accomplices to the operation. Several suspects were arrested, including Egyptian Jews and undercover Israelis. July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... Small-town post office and town hall in Lockhart, Alabama A post office is a facility (in most countries, a government one) where the public can purchase postage stamps for mailing correspondence or merchandise, and also drop off or pick up packages or other special-delivery items. ... Alexandria Modern Alexandria. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... Nickname: Al Qahirah (The Triumphant City) Cairos location in Egypt Coordinates: Governor Dr. Abdul Azim Wazir Area    - City 210 km²  - Metro 1,492 km² Population  - City 7,438,376  - Density 35,420/km²  - Urban 10,834,495  - Metro 15,200,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2) EEST (UTC+3... Nitroglycerin (also nitroglycerine, trinitroglycerin, or glyceryl trinitrate) is a chemical compound, a heavy, colorless, poisonous, oily, explosive liquid obtained by nitrating glycerol. ...

The trial against those arrested lasted until January 27, 1955, when two of the accused (Moshe Marzouk and Shmuel Azar) were condemned to execution by hanging, two were acquitted, and the rest received lengthy prison terms. One suspect was tortured to death in prison, and another one had committed suicide. Israeli agent Avraham Seidenberg (Avri Elad, alias Paul Frank) had managed to escape. January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An Israeli stamp honoring Dr. Marzouk Dr. Moshe Marzouk was an Israeli spy in Egypt who was involved in the Lavon Affair during the 1950s. ...

The trial was criticized as a show trial, and there were credible allegations that evidence had been extracted by torture. [1]

The imprisoned operatives were eventually freed in 1967, in a secret addendum to a prisoner of war exchange.

Soon after the affair, Mossad chief Isser Harel expressed suspicion to Aman concerning the integrity of Avri Elad. Despite his concerns, Aman continued using Elad for intelligence operations until 1956, when he was caught trying to sell Israeli documents to the Egyptians. Elad was tried and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. In 1980, Harel publicly revealed evidence that Elad had been turned by the Egyptians even before Operation Suzannah. If true, this would imply that Egyptian Intelligence was aware of the operation from the beginning. Isser Harel (1912 — 18 February 2003) was spymaster of the intelligence and the security services of Israel and the Director of the Mossad (1952 - 1963). ...

Political aftermath

In meetings with prime minister Moshe Sharett, secretary of defense Pinhas Lavon denied any knowledge of the operation. When intelligence chief Gibli contradicted Lavon, Sharrett commissioned a board of inquiry consisting of Israeli Supreme Court Justice Isaac Olshan and the first chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Yaakov Dori that was unable to find conclusive evidence that Lavon had authorized the operation. Lavon tried to fix the blame on Shimon Peres, who was the secretary general of the defense ministry, and Gibli for insubordination and criminal negligence. Sharett resolved the dilemma by siding with Peres, after which Lavon resigned. Former prime minister David Ben-Gurion succeeded Lavon as minister of defense. Moshe Sharett (Hebrew: משה שרת); born Moshe Shertok (Hebrew: משה שרתוק), (October 15, 1894 – July 7, 1965) was the second Prime Minister of Israel (1954-1955), serving for a little under two years between David Ben-Gurions two terms. ... The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel. ... The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ×”×’× ×” לישראל  , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels military forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy. ... Yaakov Dori (1899-1973) was the first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). ...   (Hebrew: ; born Shimon Perske on August 2, 1923 in Poland, and immigrated with his family to Israel in 1934), is an Israeli politician, former Prime Minister and current Vice Premier. ... The concept of insubordination is most often associated with military organizations, as military organizations have a chain of command and lawful orders given by a superior officer, whose orders are expected to be carried out by the person to whom the order is given. ... Criminal negligence, in the realm of criminal common law, is a legal term of art for a state of mind which is careless, inattentive, neglectful, willfully blind, or reckless; it is the mens rea part of a crime which, if occurring simultaneously with the actus reus, gives rise to criminal... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In April of 1960, a review of minutes from the inquiry found inconsistencies and possibly a fraudulent document in Gibli's original testimony that seemed to support Lavon's account of events. During this time, it also came to light that Seidenberg (the Israeli agent running Operation Suzannah in Egypt), had committed perjury during the original inquiry. Seidenberg was also suspected of betraying the group to Egyptian authorities; though the charges were never proven, he was eventually sentenced to a jail term of 10 years. Ben-Gurion scheduled closed hearings with a new board of inquiry chaired by Chaim Cohen, a supreme court justice. Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ...

This inquiry found that the perjury indeed had been committed, and that Lavon had not authorized the operation. Sharett and Levi Eshkol tried to issue a statement that would placate both Lavon and those who had opposed him. Ben-Gurion refused to accept the compromise and viewed it as a divisive play within the Mapai party. After another investigative committee sided with the Cohen inquiry, Ben-Gurion resigned from his post as defense minister. This led to the expulsion of Lavon from the Histadrut labor union and an early call for new elections which changed the political structure in Israel. â–¶(?) (Hebrew לֵוִי אֶשְׁכּוֹל ) (Born Levi Skolnick) (Hebrew לֵוִי שְׁקוֹלְנִיק) (October 25, 1895 - February 26, 1969), was the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death of a heart attack in 1969. ... Labour (העבודה HaAvoda) is an Israeli political party. ... The Histadrut (Federation [of labor]) or HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim BEretz Yisrael (ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל) (Hebrew: General Federation of Laborers in the Land of Israel) is the Israeli trade union congress. ...

It should be noted that the specifics of Operation Suzannah were not public at the time of the political upheaval.

Legacy

While Israeli concerns about Nasser's military ambitions turned out to have some merit, Operation Suzannah and the Lavon Affair turned out to be disastrous for Israel in several ways:

• The Egyptian government used the trial as a pretext for a series of efforts to punish Egyptian Jews culminating in 1958 when, following the Suez Crisis, 25,000 Jews were expelled by Egypt and at least 1,000 ended up in prisons and detention camps.
• Israel lost significant standing and credibility in its relations with the United Kingdom and the United States that would take years to repair.
• The tactics of the operation led to deep-seated suspicion of Israeli intelligence methods, such as agent provocateurs and false flag operations.
• The political aftermath caused considerable political turmoil in Israel that affected the influence of its government.

In March 2005, Israel publicly honored the surviving operatives, and President Moshe Katsav presented each with a certificate of appreciation for their efforts on behalf of the state, ending decades of official denial by Israel.^[2] 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 300,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA 2,900 WIA 2... The word internment is generally used to refer to the imprisonment or confinement of people, generally in prison camps or prisons, without due process of law and a trial. ... An agent provocateur (plural: agents provocateurs) is a person assigned to provoke unrest, violence, debate, or argument by or within a group while acting as a member of the group but covertly representing the interests of another. ... False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. ...

See also

• History of Israel (under "Lavon affair")
• Moshe Marzouk

This article describes the history of the modern State of Israel, from its Independence Proclamation in 1948 to the present. ... An Israeli stamp honoring Dr. Marzouk Dr. Moshe Marzouk was an Israeli spy in Egypt who was involved in the Lavon Affair during the 1950s. ...

Notes

References

• Black, Ian (1992). Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services, Futura, ISBN 0802132863.
• S. Teveth, Ben-Gurion's spy: the story of the political scandal that shaped modern Israel. Columbia University Press, 1996, ISBN 0231104642.
• Ostrovsky, Victor and Hoy, Claire. By Way of Deception. St. Martin's Press, 1991, ISBN 0-312-92614-6.

1. ^ According to historian Shabtai Teveth, who wrote one of the more detailed accounts, the assignment was "To undermine Western confidence in the existing [Egyptian] regime by generating public insecurity and actions to bring about arrests, demonstrations, and acts of revenge, while totally concealing the Israeli factor. The team was accordingly urged to avoid detection, so that suspicion would fall on the Muslim Brotherhood, the Communists, 'unspecified malcontents' or 'local nationalists'." (Ben-Gurion's Spy, Columbia University Press, 1996, p. 81)
2. ^ "Israel Honors Egyptian Spies 50 Years After Fiasco", Reuters, March 30, 2005.

External links

• The Lavon Affair - Israel and Terror in Egypt
• About the Lavon affair
• The Lavon Affair by Doron Geller, JUICE, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Education Department
• The Lavon Affair - By David Hirst, Excerpts from his book: The Gun and the Olive Branch, 1977, 1984, Futura Publications
• The Lavon Affair by Doron Geller
• List of books about the Lavon Affair