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Behind the Mystique - The Workings of the Mossad

February 22, 2023

Israel’s Mossad is one of the most feared and controversial intelligence agencies in the world.

https://p.dw.com/p/4MuTv
Israel Mossad Logo
Image: Imago Images/M. Siebinger

Despite its proud claims that it is a peacemaker, Mossad is today generally seen as a warmonger, especially in the Middle East.

Spectacular, but also sometimes brutal Mossad operations in the 1970s and 1980s spread fear but also commanded respect.
It was first and foremost the 1960 abduction in Argentina of Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews, that made the organization world famous. The killing of the Palestinian terrorists who murdered 11 Israeli sportspeople during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich was also a demonstration of the intelligence agency’s toughness and intransigence.

Stills aus Mossad
Image: Amit Goren Productions Ltd.
Stills aus Mossad
Image: Amit Goren Productions Ltd.

Director Amit Goren’s film "Mossad" attempts to take a look behind the façade of this notorious secret service. With exclusive interviews and carefully researched archive footage, he reconstructs the history of the organization from its foundation in 1949 until the present day. Agents, politicians and eyewitnesses speak candidly about the agency - not just about its successful operations, but also about its catastrophes, failings and errors. Errors that few talk about in Israel, to shield those responsible from any legal process. Protected by the political system and opaque in structure, the organization appears to be beyond any criticism. 

Stills aus Mossad
Image: Amit Goren Productions Ltd.

What role did the spy agency play during the Sabra and Shatila massacre in the refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982? Could the 1973 Yom Kippur War have been prevented if Mossad had acted earlier on intelligence from an Egyptian informant? What influence does the organization have on Israeli political leaders? And to what extent is Mossad instrumentalized by rulers for political gain?
Ultimately, Mossad remains the same as it ever was: feared, powerful and controversial.

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