Nahum Admoni
| Nahum Admoni | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Allegiance |
State of Israel  |
| Service | Mossad |
| Active | 1954–1989 |
|
| |
| Born |
21 November 1929 Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Director-General of Mossad |
Nahum Admoni (Hebrew: נחום אדמוני; born November 21, 1929) is a former Israeli intelligence officer who served as the Director-General of the Mossad from 1982 to 1989.
Admoni was born in Jerusalem in Mandatory Palestine. His parents were middle-class Polish Jews who immigrated from near Gdańsk. Growing up, he studied at the Rehavia gymnasium. He fought in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in the SHAI, the Haganah intelligence branch, and later in the newly created military intelligence. After the war he went to the United States and studied at the University of California, Berkeley, returning to Israel in 1954. There he rejoined the Israeli intelligence community, working his way up the chain of command to be Mossad Director Yitzhak Hofi's deputy. In 1982 the designated director of the Mossad Yekutiel Adam was killed in 1982 Lebanon War and Admoni was chosen to replace him.
Shortly after becoming the Mossad Director the Sabra and Shatila massacre occurred. Admoni was criticized by the Kahan Commission for not warning the cabinet before allowing the Gemayel Phalangists into the camps, though no action against him was recommended. During his service as Mossad Director, Admoni watched over the Jonathan Pollard affair, in which it was revealed that Israel (though not the Mossad directly) was spying on the United States. He also endured the revelation of Israeli involvement in the Iran–Contra Affair and the public abduction of Mordechai Vanunu, who had revealed secrets of the Israeli nuclear weapons program to the British press. Admoni retired in 1989.
On August 28, 2006 he was appointed by prime minister Ehud Olmert to be chairman of an investigation committee, charged with investigating the actions of the government during the 2006 Lebanon War.[1]
He is married to Nina Admoni (née Wertans), who was born in Poland, and was among the Jews who fled to China during World War II. She later moved to the United States, and met Nahum while he was studying in Berkeley. The couple married, and she moved to Israel when he returned there.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Oren, Amir. "Kahan Commission criticized Admoni; Olmert made him head of panel", Haaretz, August 31, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
- ↑ http://www.timesofisrael.com/a-young-jewish-girls-escape-from-death-to-idyllic-shanghai-during-world-war-ii/
References
- Black, Ian. Morris, Benny. Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services. New York: Grove Press, 1991. ISBN 0-8021-1159-9, 427 p.
| ||||||||||
