Did the head of the Mossad hint at the explosion in Iran about an hour before it happened? David Barnea paid tribute today (Wednesday) to the late former Mossad head Zvi Zamir at his funeral, saying that "every Arab mother will know that if her son participated, directly or indirectly, in the massacre of October 7, his head will bleed."
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At the beginning of the obituary, the head of the Mossad said that "today we say goodbye with great sadness and deep appreciation to the condition of Zamir, Zvika, who was the fourth head of the Mossad. Zamir was a deep-rooted Israeli in every inch of his being. The trajectory of his life was a path of glorious service, which characterizes the generation that founded the country. He joined – like other young men of his generation – the Palmach. At the beginning of the War of Independence, he founded the sixth battalion of the Palmach and commanded it, with his main task being the security of the convoys on the way to besieged Jerusalem. In the early fifties he commanded the Givati Brigade, and in the Kadesh operation he commanded the Carmeli Brigade. In 1960, he received the rank of colonel, as head of the training department at the General Staff, and later, he was colonel of the Southern Command. In 1968, he replaced the late reserve colonel Meir Amit, and assumed the position of head of the Mossad. He served as head of the Mossad for exactly six years."
He also said that "his years at the Mossad were tumultuous years. Palestinian terrorism reared its head. Zamir was personally present in Munich, when in front of his eyes the attempt of the German security services to rescue the Israeli athletes who were kidnapped during the Olympics failed. From Munich, he reported to the Prime Minister in an emotional storm about the athletes' murder."
"'I'm sorry to tell you,' he said on the phone to Golda Meir, 'but the athletes were not rescued. I saw them. None of them survived.' I heard him in a strangled voice in our seminary telling about how Jews in Germany were led, with the palms of their hands, once again, like sheep to the slaughter and he, as the head of the Israeli institution, looks at the athletes, his heart goes out to them, and he can do nothing. I will not forget Zvika's message to our employees, the message to me Barnea said.
According to Barnea, "The murder in Munich was a defining event for Zamir, for the people of Israel. The Mossad decided to take off its gloves and go on the attack. With the backing of Prime Minister Golda Meir, the Mossad began to act aggressively against the terrorists. Murderer after murderer was eliminated by Mossad fighters. There was no place for them to hide The hand of the Mossad did not reach. There were also joint operations with the IDF, and the most well-known of them is the "Spring of Youth" operation, which was held in the heart of Beirut."
He also said that "this war on terror also had heavy costs. A Mossad collection officer, Zadok Ofir, was shot in Brussels by a terrorist, and was seriously injured. Another Mossad officer, Baruch Cohen, was murdered by a terrorist in Madrid. In the Lille-Hammer operation, the Caesarea squad hit the wrong person and its men were arrested. Some were in prison for long periods. But these are the prices of a secret war, and the Mossad, under Zamir's leadership, conducted it with strength and determination, in the alleys of Arab countries and on the streets of Europe."
He then referred to the "Iron Swords" war and said that "Today we are in the midst of a war. And the Mossad, today as fifty years ago, is obliged to come to terms with the murderers who raided the Gaza Strip on the seventh of October, with the planners and with their senders. It will take time, as it took after The massacre in Munich, but our hands will catch them wherever they are. Every Arab mother will know that if her son participated, directly or indirectly, in the massacre of October 7, his head will bleed."
An explosion near Soleimani's grave – on the anniversary of his death (Photo: Arab Networks)
"In this mission, as in many others, Zvika's spirit and leadership will accompany us. Zamir was one of the commanders in the field. When the Mossad revealed a terrorist cell that planned to shoot down an El-Al plane at the airport in Rome, Zamir was in the field. Later he said: Our fighters were closely monitoring the terrorists. At one point I didn't know if we would eliminate them ourselves or if we would turn to our Italian colleagues. The decision to contact the head of Italian intelligence was made by Zamir when he was on the streets of Rome," he added.
The head of the Mossad also said that "50 years ago, Zamir himself received the warning that war was about to break out between Israel and Egypt and Syria the next day, Yom Kippur. He met in London with the source who brought the warning and wrote the detailed telegram that he informed the Prime Minister himself about the war that would begin simultaneously on both fronts. He even offered to publicly reveal the information, in order to prove to the enemy that his plans are known to Israel and deter them from their implementation. Unfortunately, the excellent, unprecedented information received from many Mossad sources in the two years preceding the Yom Kippur War was of no use. This remains as a wound open in Zamir's heart until the end of his days. Along with being a commander who is always in the field, Zamir deepened the design of the Mossad as an orderly security body that operates methodically, and consistently and persistently builds its capabilities to act independently."
"After the Yom Kippur War and after the conclusion of the prisoner release deal, the Egyptians were adamant not to release Mossad fighter Baruch Mizrahi from captivity," said Barnea. "The Minister of Defense at the time, Moshe Dayan, made a decision to waive Baruch's inclusion in the deal so as not to delay the release of the hundreds of soldiers. Zamir learned of this when he was visiting Washington, and at the same time, he submitted a letter of resignation to the Prime Minister out of the sense of responsibility he felt for the soldiers and employees of the Mossad, who were dear So much to his heart. Only after Baruch was included in the deal did he relent, and withdrew his letter of resignation. Prime Minister Golda Meir asked him to remain in office as long as she was Prime Minister. Yitzhak Rabin also asked him to remain in office. Zamir made his mark as the leading commander at the head of his forces, advocating aggressive action , standing by his opinions, while emphasizing the organization's need for secrecy and modesty. He identified with the organization he led, and loved its people. He loved the institution, and did everything with a blessed combination of a sharp mind and a broad heart."
At the end he said: "Over your grave, Zvika, I promise you to educate future generations of Mossad fighters and workers in the spirit of your legacy, the spirit of stubborn fighting, standing up for opinions even when they are not popular, and the spirit of responsibility for the Mossad and its employees. We bow our heads, Zvika, in your memory. Bless the organization that he was his commander."
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