Meir Dagan | |
|---|---|
| מאיר דגן | |
 Dagan in 2011 | |
| Director of Mossad | |
| In office 2002–2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Ariel Sharon Ehud Olmert Benjamin Netanyahu |
| Preceded by | Efraim Halevy |
| Succeeded by | Tamir Pardo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Meir Hubermann (1945-01-30)30 January 1945 |
| Died | 17 March 2016(2016-03-17) (aged 71) |
| Awards | Medal of Courage |
| Nickname | King of Shadows[1] |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Branch/service | Israel Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1963–1996 |
| Rank | Aluf |
| Battles/wars | Six-Day War Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War |
Aluf Meir Dagan (Hebrew:מאיר דגן; 30 January 1945 – 17 March 2016) was anIsrael Defense ForcesMajor General (reserve) and Director of theMossad.[2]
Meir Huberman (later Dagan) was born on a train on the outskirts ofKherson,[3] between theSoviet Union andPoland duringWorld War II toPolish Jewish parents who were fleeing Poland for the Soviet Union to escape theHolocaust. His maternal grandfather, Ber Erlich Sloshny, was killed by the Nazis inLukow. In 2009, the Israeli newspaperYedioth Ahronoth published two photos of Nazi soldiers standing next to a kneeling Sloshny shortly before they shot him.[4] During his term as Director-General of the Mossad, Dagan kept one of the photographs hanging in his office.[4] Meir and his parents survived the Holocaust, and in 1950, the family madealiyah toIsrael. During the cattle ship's approach to Israel, it encountered a storm, during which Meir stood on the stern, praying to reach the shore safely. The family initially lived in animmigrant camp inLod before settling inBat Yam, where Meir grew up and his parents ran a laundry business.[5][6]
Dagan was avegetarian and an amateur painter, who studied painting and sculpture atTel Aviv University.[7] He was married to Bina and had three children.[5][8]
Dagan was conscripted into theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) in 1963. He was considered for the eliteSayeret Matkal unit, but ended up joining theParatroopers Brigade. He completed his compulsory service in 1966, but was called up as a reservist in 1967, and fought in theSix-Day War as an officer, commanding a paratrooper platoon on the Sinai front.[5]
In 1970, he caught the attention of Ariel Sharon who recruited him to command a special unit, known as Sayeret Rimon, whose task was to hunt suspected terrorists in theGaza Strip and 'eliminate' them.[9] Sharon stated that Dagan specialized in 'separating an Arab from his head.'[4][9] In 1971, he received aMedal of Courage for tackling a wanted terrorist who was holding a live grenade. Dagan later fought in the 1973Yom Kippur War as an officer on the Sinai front, and participated in the crossing of theSuez Canal. During the1982 Lebanon War, he commanded theBarak Armored Brigade, and was one of the first brigade commanders to enterBeirut.[5][6] In the 1990s, he held a series of high-level positions in the IDF command, eventually reaching the rank ofMajor General before retiring from the army in 1995, after 32 years of service.[5]
Dagan later served as a counterterrorism adviser to Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, and he initially served as a National Security Adviser to Prime MinisterAriel Sharon. Sharon appointed him Director-General of Mossad in August 2002, replacing outgoing DirectorEfraim Halevy. As Mossad director, Dagan was responsible for intelligence, counter-intelligence, and counter-terrorism activities outside of Israel and the Palestinian Territories (which are under the jurisdiction ofShabak as they are considered domestic areas). He was allegedly aggressive in ordering killings of terrorists on foreign soil. According to Mossad veteran Gad Shimron, "Israel is in the paradoxical situation of not having a death penalty but allowing itself to target Arab terrorists outside its borders with almost complete impunity. Meir Dagan fully subscribes to this thinking, unlike some of his predecessors". By November 2004, at least four foreign terrorists had already been killed in suspected Mossad operations, and three major terrorist attacks planned against Israeli civilians abroad had been foiled.[6]
Ehud Yatom, a member of theKnesset Subcommittee on Secret Services, stated that "as someone who is privy to the facts but not at liberty to divulge them, I can say this with complete authority. The Mossad under Meir Dagan has undergone a revolution in terms of organization, intelligence and operations." Under Dagan's watch, Mossad tripled its recruitment efforts, launching a website where people can apply to join. Reportedly, much of its annual budget of $350 million was diverted from traditional intelligence gathering and analysis to field operations and "special tasks".[6]
Dagan was reconfirmed as Mossad director until the end of 2008 by Prime MinisterEhud Olmert in February 2007,[10] and in June 2008, Olmert again extended his tenure until the end of 2009.[11]
In mid-2007, Dagan had a "spat" with the Deputy Director N, who was thought to be a candidate for replacing Dagan in late 2008. Dagan restored his former deputy "T" to the post and Dagan was thought likely to recommend "T" as his replacement.[12]
He was re-appointed in 2009 by Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu to serve until the end of 2010.[13] In June 2010, a report fromChannel 2 stated that Netanyahu had denied a request by Dagan for another year as Mossad director,[14] though this was quickly denied by the Prime Minister's Office.[15] In November 2010,Tamir Pardo was announced as his replacement.
Following his departure, Dagan made several controversial public statements concerning the prudence of an Israeli military attack onIran's nuclear facilities, openly contradicting the positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu. He called it a "stupid idea" in a May 2011 conference.[16] After Dagan voiced criticism of the prime minister, he was asked to return hisdiplomatic passport before its expiry date.[17] Dagan repeated the opinion in a March 2012 interview withLesley Stahl of CBS News'60 Minutes, calling an Israeli attack on Iran before other options were exhausted "the stupidest idea" and saying he considered the Iranians "a very rational regime."[18]
Dagan served as the director of theIsrael Port Authority,[19] and in 2011 was appointed chairman of Gulliver Energy Ltd. (TASE:GLVR), which announced that it intended to mine uranium at a license in the Dead Sea area[20] and drill in search of gold nearEilat.[21]
He served as honorary president of the Israeli private intelligence agencyBlack Cube until his death in 2016.[citation needed]
In April 2011, Dagan was awarded the Haim Herzog Award for his unique contribution to the State of Israel.[22]
In May 2011, he won the Moskovitz Award for Zionism.[23]
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In 2012, Dagan was diagnosed withliver cancer, and beganchemotherapy treatment, but the cancer spread and he began to suffer from liver failure. In October of that year, he flew toBelarus and had a successfulliver transplant operation performed by French-Jewish surgeon Daniel Azoulay, considered one of the world's leading liver transplant surgeons. After the operation, he was admitted to an isolation unit for fear of infection.[24][25][26]
At the time, criteria for a liver transplant in Israel dictated the patient must be no older than 65, so the 67-year-old Dagan had to seek treatment abroad. Israeli Foreign MinisterAvigdor Lieberman helped facilitate the operation. On 27 October 2012, after his condition had stabilized, Dagan returned to Israel and was immediately hospitalized.[27] He was discharged from Ichilov Hospital and began recuperating. Dagan was accompanied throughout his ordeal by RabbiAvraham Elimelech Firer, with whom he developed a close relationship, and later reciprocated by helping Firer raise funds for a new rehabilitation center.[28]
Despite the transplant, the cancer remained in his body. Dagan died of cancer on 17 March 2016 at the age of 71.[24] PresidentReuven Rivlin said of Dagan, "Meir was one of the greatest of the brave, creative and devout warriors that the Jewish people ever had. His devotion to the State of Israel was absolute." Netanyahu said, "In his eight years as the head of the Mossad, he led the organization in daring, pioneering and groundbreaking operations. A great warrior has died."[29]
Gulliver will have the right to mine metals in Zerah's Maya license in the Dead Sea area.
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