Ephraim Halevy
Encyclopedia
Efraim Halevy is a lawyer and an Israel
i intelligence
expert. He was the ninth director of Mossad
and the 4th head of the Israeli National Security Council
.
Above all, he is remembered for his part in bringing about the peace treaty with Jordan
. The special relationship he developed with King Hussein made it possible for Halevy to open Jordan to the awareness that only a peace agreement with Israel
would extricate the Hashemite kingdom from the crisis after the Gulf War.
to an established Orthodox Jewish family. He emigrated to Israel
in 1948. He attended Ma'aleh, a religious high school in Jerusalem, and later, graduated (with commendation) in law. Between 1957-1961 he was the editor of the journal Monthly Survey (סקירה חודשית), published by the Chief Education Officer. In 1961, he began his work in the Mossad. In 1967, he was selected to the Chief Branches Forum.
Halevy remained in the Mossad for the next 28 years, heading three different branches throughout. Between 1990-1995, under the directorship of Shabtai Shavit
, he served as deputy director and as head of the headquarters branch. In 1996, he became the Israeli ambassador
to the European Union
in Brussels
. In March 1998, he became the director of Mossad following the resignation of Danny Yatom
.
Halevy served as the envoy and confidant of five Prime Ministers
: Yitzhak Shamir
, Yitzhak Rabin
, Benjamin Netanyahu
, Ehud Barak
and Ariel Sharon
. He took an active part in a special mission by Rabin in forging the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace
. After the failure of the Mossad operation to assassinate Hamas
leader Khaled Mashal
in 1997, he took an active part in Benjamin Netanyahu
's mission to return the Mossad men captured in Jordan
, and to settle the crisis with the King of Jordan.
On October 2002, he was appointed the second head of the National Security Council and an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
. In June 2003, he resigned from this position after Dov Weisglass, the bureau chief of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
, isolated and neutralized him, and Prime Minister Sharon refrained from accepting his recommendations on a host of issues and went to teach at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
. He is the author of the book The role of the intelligence community
in the age of strategic alternatives for Israel.
He is known as a hard-headed pragmatist on issues involving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, willing to ruffle feathers on the right and the left, unlike many others in the intelligence establishment who are known to take more extreme ideological positions on these issues.
Halevy believes that Israel should take up Hamas’s offer of a long-term truce and try negotiating, because the Islamic movement is respected by Palestinians and generally keeps its word, he said. He pointed to the cease-fire in attacks on Israel that Hamas declared two years ago and has largely honored. “They’re not very pleasant people, but they are very, very credible,” Halevy said.
In 2006 he published the book Man in the Shadows, covering Middle Eastern history since the late 1980s. Halevy was interviewed about his book on The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart
on April 24, 2006, and by guest host Brian Ross on the Charlie Rose Show
On January 27, 2007 an interview of his was published in Portugal, in which he stated "We are in the midst of a Third World War" with radical Islam, and predicted that it will take at least 25 years for the West to win.
In November 2011 Halevy said Iran should be prevented from becoming a nuclear power but expressed opposition to an attack which he said "could affect not only Israel, but the entire region for 100 years." He added "The growing haredi radicalization poses a bigger risk than Ahmadinejad".
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
expert. He was the ninth director of Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
and the 4th head of the Israeli National Security Council
Israeli National Security Council
The Israeli National Security Council is Israel's central body for coordination, integration, analysis and monitoring in the field of national security and is the staff forum on national security for the Israeli Prime Minister and Government. However, national security decisions typically made by...
.
Above all, he is remembered for his part in bringing about the peace treaty with Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. The special relationship he developed with King Hussein made it possible for Halevy to open Jordan to the awareness that only a peace agreement with Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
would extricate the Hashemite kingdom from the crisis after the Gulf War.
Life and career
Halevy was born in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to an established Orthodox Jewish family. He emigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1948. He attended Ma'aleh, a religious high school in Jerusalem, and later, graduated (with commendation) in law. Between 1957-1961 he was the editor of the journal Monthly Survey (סקירה חודשית), published by the Chief Education Officer. In 1961, he began his work in the Mossad. In 1967, he was selected to the Chief Branches Forum.
Halevy remained in the Mossad for the next 28 years, heading three different branches throughout. Between 1990-1995, under the directorship of Shabtai Shavit
Shabtai Shavit
Shabtai Shavit was the Director General of the Mossad from 1989 to 1996.Shavit first joined the Israel Defense Forces, where he served in the Sayeret Matkal and from 1958 to 1959 he was the Military Governor of the Southern Command...
, he served as deputy director and as head of the headquarters branch. In 1996, he became the Israeli ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. In March 1998, he became the director of Mossad following the resignation of Danny Yatom
Danny Yatom
Danny Yatom is a former Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Labour. Before that he was a Director of the Mossad security service.-Background:...
.
Halevy served as the envoy and confidant of five Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of Israel
The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
: Yitzhak Shamir
Yitzhak Shamir
' is a former Israeli politician, the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, in 1983–84 and 1986–92.-Biography:Icchak Jeziernicky was born in Ruzhany , Russian Empire . He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement...
, Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin
' was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77 and 1992 until his assassination in 1995....
, Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
, Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....
and Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
. He took an active part in a special mission by Rabin in forging the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace
Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace
The Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed in 1994. The treaty normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes. The conflict had cost roughly US$18.3 billion...
. After the failure of the Mossad operation to assassinate Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
leader Khaled Mashal
Khaled Mashal
Khaled Mashal, also known as Khaled Mashaal, Khaled Meshaal, and Khalid Mish'al, has been the main leader of Hamas since the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi in 2004. In addition, Mashal heads the Syrian branch of the political bureau of Hamas.Mashal was born in Silwad, a village north of...
in 1997, he took an active part in Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
's mission to return the Mossad men captured in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, and to settle the crisis with the King of Jordan.
On October 2002, he was appointed the second head of the National Security Council and an advisor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
. In June 2003, he resigned from this position after Dov Weisglass, the bureau chief of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, isolated and neutralized him, and Prime Minister Sharon refrained from accepting his recommendations on a host of issues and went to teach at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
. He is the author of the book The role of the intelligence community
Israeli Intelligence Community
The Israeli Intelligence Community is the designation given to the complex of organizations responsible for intelligence collection, dissemination, and research for the State of Israel...
in the age of strategic alternatives for Israel.
He is known as a hard-headed pragmatist on issues involving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, willing to ruffle feathers on the right and the left, unlike many others in the intelligence establishment who are known to take more extreme ideological positions on these issues.
Halevy believes that Israel should take up Hamas’s offer of a long-term truce and try negotiating, because the Islamic movement is respected by Palestinians and generally keeps its word, he said. He pointed to the cease-fire in attacks on Israel that Hamas declared two years ago and has largely honored. “They’re not very pleasant people, but they are very, very credible,” Halevy said.
In 2006 he published the book Man in the Shadows, covering Middle Eastern history since the late 1980s. Halevy was interviewed about his book on The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
with Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
on April 24, 2006, and by guest host Brian Ross on the Charlie Rose Show
On January 27, 2007 an interview of his was published in Portugal, in which he stated "We are in the midst of a Third World War" with radical Islam, and predicted that it will take at least 25 years for the West to win.
In November 2011 Halevy said Iran should be prevented from becoming a nuclear power but expressed opposition to an attack which he said "could affect not only Israel, but the entire region for 100 years." He added "The growing haredi radicalization poses a bigger risk than Ahmadinejad".