Mossad Veterans Take on Israeli Government Over Judiciary Reform

Every morning, Amir erects a protest booth to inform onlookers that contentious court reform legislation is endangering Israeli democracy. He is, however, a very unique protester—a former Mossad agent who had never before cast doubt on the government for which he had previously risked his life on missions abroad.

Former members of Israel’s Mossad, the country’s foreign intelligence service, are protesting the government’s overhaul of the judiciary by taking to the streets. Amir, who declined to be fully identified due to his previous sensitive secret roles, is one of them.

Despite months of demonstrations by tens of thousands of Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s nationalist-religious coalition last week passed the first phase of the legislation, restricting the High Court’s ability to overturn decisions deemed to be “unreasonable.”

Reservists in elite special forces units and fighter pilots who have threatened to skip shifts have come out in support of them, and the disagreement has spread among former Mossad agents.

According to two former officers who spoke to news sources, some Mossad officers who are currently on duty have also joined the demonstrations, which is permitted.

Reservists in elite special forces units and fighter pilots who have threatened to skip shifts have come out in support of them, and the disagreement has spread among former Mossad agents.

According to two former officers who spoke to news sources, some Mossad officers who are currently on duty have also joined the demonstrations, which is permitted.

In Amir’s case, he claimed that his post-retirement advisory assistance to Mossad had been temporarily halted.

I faithfully served numerous administrations for 20 years, even those that did not share my political beliefs. When they (the current government) changed the game’s rules, I was no longer willing to accept the results of the election from the previous year. They have violated their contract and crossed a red line. In the Mediterranean coastal city of Herzliya, not far from where he has his stand, Amir declared that individuals like myself are no longer constrained by our duty.

According to chat messages viewed by news sources, Mossad is experiencing morale issues, with some employees considering early retirement.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment through a spokesperson. The government argues that the top court has been “over-interventionist” and disputes that judicial reforms endanger democracy.

According to Efraim Halevy, a former head of Mossad, there are no indications that this dissatisfaction is impairing the agency’s essential capabilities.

Two additional former Mossad officials who are participating in the demonstrations and who are more concerned about the effects the legislation will have on Israel’s security system were interviewed by Reuters.

Renowned spy agency

The decision of ex-spies to participate in protests raises the stakes and affects a legendary institution that has assisted Israel in many victories over Arab nations and in waging a covert war against arch-enemy Iran. Haim Tomer, a former head of Mossad’s intelligence gathering division and of its international liaison wing, stated that many of his former friends and coworkers who served with him felt that what was happening was harming Israel’s ability to maintain security.

Tomer claimed that Mossad enjoyed “a deep sense of respect” abroad. “I don’t know if this deep sense of respect will endure.” One of the most effective spies in the world is considered to be Mossad. It has completed spectacular missions like tracking down Arab adversaries throughout Europe, apprehending Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, and smuggling Ethiopian Jews to Israel using agents posing as scuba diving instructors.

Gil, a different Mossad veteran who declined to give his full name, said that during an operation, you need to have faith in the system and block out everything else. Who is to say that, given the current situation and the nature of this government, you won’t question whether risking your life is worthwhile?

Informed sources have told news sources that Israel’s adversaries in the Middle East are worried about the country’s deterrence capabilities and have called high-level meetings to discuss the unrest and how they might profit from it.

Another former Mossad director, Yossi Cohen, expressed concern for “Israel’s immediate national security.”

Cohen stated in a commentary published in the Yediot Aharonot Daily on July 23 that “we must ensure Israel’s security remains unharmed at a time when the Iranian threat looms over us from multiple fronts.”