Aharon Zeevi Farkash
Major General Aharon Zeevi Farkash is a former head of the Israeli military intelligence service Aman.[1]
Education
Farkash holds a B.A. and M.A. in Middle East History from Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.[2]
Career
A biography on the website of Israel's Ministry of Public Security describes Farkash's career as follows:
- Major General (Res.) Zeevi Farkash spent his military career in the Intelligence Branch where he eventually commanded the National Unit of Collection and Intel (Unit 8200) during which the unit was awarded four different National Security Commendations. Maj. Gen. Farkash then proceeded to Chief of the Technology and Logistics Branch and then served as the Chief of Defense Intelligence in the IDF.[3]
Head of Aman
Following an Israeli assessment of the Iranian nuclear programme in 2003-04, Farkash toured European capitals with the head of Mossad to warn of the threat. He later said that he met with the political leaders of Italy, the UK, France, Germany and the Czech Republic before reporting back to the Israeli Prime Minister.[4]
According to Akiva Eldar, Farkash equivocated in response to political pressure over his February 2004 assessment of the political implications of Ariel Sharon's planned withdrawal from Gaza:
- Ze'evi-Farkash did his best: "A unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip will be construed by the Palestinians as surrender to terrorism," he said. "That is liable to be a catalyst for intensified terrorist attacks." He later added, "The evacuation [of the Israelis from] the Gaza Strip may actually restrain terrorism."
- Right-wing MKs immediately passed on what the DMI had said to reporters, emphasizing the first part of his analysis, of course. The next day's papers noted that the senior officer's remarks "had heightened the tension between the Prime Minister's Bureau and the defense establishment."[5]
Views
In December 2007, Farkash strongly criticised a US National Intelligence Estimate that Iran had halted work on nuclear weapons development:
- Speaking to The Jerusalem Post after his address, Ze'evi-Farkash fumed that the NIE's report was "political" - designed to deprive President George W. Bush of the justification for military intervention.
"America can't act," he said, "and it's much harder for Israel to act as long as the US is in Iraq" - since Israeli action would be seen as having tacit American support. And he said the blow to the sanctions effort was devastating, precisely when it seemed that sanctions were going to have a real impact.[6]
Affiliations
- Unit 8200 - former commander
- Aman - former head
- Institute for National Security Studies - Director of Intelligence and National Defense studies
- Ben Yakir Youth Village - Chairman of Public Management
- Lochamey Hageta’ot Friends - member
Notes
- ↑ Speakers, The International Security Forum, State of Israel Ministry of PublicSecurity, accessed 29 July 2009.
- ↑ Speakers, The International Security Forum, State of Israel Ministry of PublicSecurity, accessed 29 July 2009.
- ↑ Speakers, The International Security Forum, State of Israel Ministry of PublicSecurity, accessed 29 July 2009.
- ↑ Ex-MI Chief: NIE will enable Iran to get nukes, Jerusalem Post, 19 December 2007.
- ↑ Akiva Eldar, Military Intelligence: Never expected Hamas victory in 2006, 15 January 2009.
- ↑ Ex-MI Chief: NIE will enable Iran to get nukes, Jerusalem Post, 19 December 2007.
