Reuven Shiloah
Reuven Shiloah was the first head of Israel's Mossad Intelligence agency. According to the Agency's website, he held this position from 1949 to 1952.[1]
Shiloah was born Reuven Zaslanski in Jerusalem in 1909. He later shortened his surname to Zaslani, before changing it to his underground codename Shiloah.[2]
Jewish Agency
Shiloah moved to Baghdad as a schoolteacher in 1931. The job was a cover post for his work for the Jewish Agency. While there he developed contacts with the Kurds in Northern Iraq as potential non-Arab allies.[3]
On his return to Jerusalem in 1934, the Haganah assigned Shiloah to create an intelligence agency. Together with Shaul Avigur, he formed Shai. His official post was as a liaison officer between the Jewish Agency and the British Mandate.[4]
When World War Two broke out, Shiloah helped to create a Jewish brigade within the British Army.[3] Shiloah recruited 26 paratroopers who were dropped into the Nazi-occupied Balkans. Among the survivors was Shaike Dan.[4]
Shiloah also developed contacts with the OSS during the war.[4]
Shiloah was involved in secret talks with Jordan's King Abdullah which led to a tacit understanding that influenced Jordan's decision to sieze the West Bank, forestalling the independent Palestinian state envisaged by the UN.[5]
In April 1949, Shiloah convened the first meeting of Varash, the committee of Israel's intelligence service chiefs.[4]
Mossad
Shiloah led a re-organisation of Israeli intelligence at the expense of Boris Guriel and Asher Ben-Natan of the Foreign Ministry's Political Department on 1 April 1951, becoming the first director of the Mossad.[6] John Loftus and Mark Aarons claim that the choice of Shiloah was intended to cement a pro-western orientation in the intelligence services.[7]
Prior to David Ben-Gurion's first visit to Washington in 1951, Shiloah suggested that Ben-Gurion propose intelligence co-operation. Although Israel was being armed by the Communist bloc at this time, Shiloah believed that it should aim towards NATO membership.[8]
Shiloah visited Washington in June 1951 to discuss an exchange of information and liaison officers with Walter Bedell Smith, Allen Dulles and James Angleton, the latter of whom introduced him to Pagie Morris.[9][10]
In December 1951, Dan Pines of the labour newspaper Davar, convinced Shiloah to fund a supposed intelligence network in the Soviet Union, but in fact embezzled the money.[11]
In March 1952, Shiloah abolished Aliyah B, bringing responsibility for underground immigration to Israel to the new Mossad.[12]
Shiloah submitted his resignation as Director of Mossad to David Ben-Gurion on 20 September 1952. He name Akiva Levinsky, Benjamin Gibli and Isser Harel as potential successors.[13]
Trident
In June 1958, Shiloah headed a team of Israeli intelligence officials meeting their Turkish counterparts. He accompanied Ben-Gurion to a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes on 28 August 1958. These talks later led to the tripartite Trident intelligence co-operation network in which Iran was also involved.[4]
External resources
- NameBase SHILOAH REUBEN
Notes
- ↑ Reuven Shiloah (1909-1959), Mossad, accessed 17 April 2010.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.20.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.21.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.22.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.81.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, pp.29-30.
- ↑ John Loftus and Mark Aarons, The Secret War Against the Jews, 1994, St Martin's Press, p.211.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, pp.76-77.
- ↑ Ted Morgan, A Covert Life - Jay Lovestone: Communist, Anti-Communist and Spymaster, Random House, 1999, p.271.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.78.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.41.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, pp.38-39.
- ↑ Yossi Melman and Dan Raviv, Every Spy a Prince: The Secret History of Israel's Intelligence Community, Houghton Mifflin, 1991, p.40.
