Editing Isser Harel (section)

== Biography ==
=== Childhood and youth ===
Isser Harel was born as Yisrael Natanovich Halperin in 1911 in the city of [[Vitebsk]], within the [[Pale of Settlement]] of the [[Russian Empire]] (modern-day [[Belarus]]), as the fourth child to a wealthy Jewish family. His father, Rabbi Natan-Neta Halperin, was a graduate of the Lithuanian [[Volozhin Yeshiva]], and his mother, Yocheved (née Levin), was a homemaker, the daughter of a wealthy local Jewish industrialist.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sela|first=David|title=This Week 70 Years Ago: Fighting Poachers and the Rise of the Citrus Industry|url= https://www.israelhayom.co.il/magazine/shishabat/article/13168628|date=13 October 2022|publisher=Israel Hayom|language=he}}</ref> His exact birthdate is unknown; it was recorded in his father's [[Talmud]] volume, but the book was lost due to the upheavals of the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] and [[World War I]]. The Halperin family owned a [[vinegar]] factory in Vitebsk, a gift from his maternal grandfather, who had held a [[concession (contract)|concession]] to produce vinegar in large parts of [[Russian Empire|Tsarist Russia]].

Whilst six years old, the [[Russian Civil War]] broke out, and Vitebsk changed hands several times between the [[White movement|Whites]] and the [[Red Army|Reds]]. He once attended a speech given by [[Leon Trotsky]] in his city. The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] regime confiscated the family's property, and they suffered from hunger.

In 1922, the family left the [[Soviet Union]] and relocated to the city of [[Daugavpils]] in independent [[Latvia]]. On their way, Soviet soldiers robbed them of their remaining possessions. In Daugavpils, he received a formal education, completing elementary school and beginning high school studies. In his book ''Security and Democracy'', he describes a significant event in the city related to Rabbi [[Meir Simcha of Dvinsk]], who served as the local rabbi. He writes that during a particularly rainy winter, the local river overflowed, threatening to breach the dam and flood the city. Rabbi Meir Simcha prayed for mercy, and shortly afterward, the waters began to recede, saving the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tsofar.com/zofar/mashtap/show_story.asp?id=7018|title=Complete description from the book|language=he}}</ref>

As he grew older, his Jewish national consciousness awakened, and he joined the [[Zionist]] [[youth movement]]. At the age of 16, Yisrael left for [[hachshara]] (agricultural training) in preparation for [[aliyah]] to [[Mandatory Palestine]]. During his year of training, he worked in [[agriculture]], aspiring to join a [[kibbutz]]. In 1929, following the outbreak of the [[1929 Palestine riots|1929 Arab riots]], his group decided to expedite their immigration to Palestine to support the [[Yishuv]]. At 17, Yisrael obtained forged documents that claimed he was 18, which allowed him to receive a certificate of immigration (certificat) from the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]]. In early 1930, he made [[aliyah]], crossing [[Europe]] from north to south and boarding a ship in [[Genoa]] bound for Palestine. He carried a [[pistol]], which he concealed in a loaf of bread.

=== In Mandatory Palestine ===
[[File:Malka Braverman – with Lily Castel.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Rivka Harel, Yisrael Harel's wife, second from the right. Far left is Malka Braverman, the first woman to serve as deputy head of the Mossad]]
In Palestine, Yisrael joined the group from [[HaKibbutz HaMeuhad]] that founded Kibbutz [[Shfayim]]. Initially, he worked as a pioneer in the [[citrus]] orchards of the [[Sharon plain]] and in a packing house. During this time, he married Rivka, his kibbutz companion. In 1935, Yisrael and his wife decided to bring their families to Palestine. Yisrael took out loans to finance their immigration, and both families came to live with them in the kibbutz. He asked the kibbutz for help repaying the loans, but his request was denied. As a result, the three families left the kibbutz and moved to [[Herzliya]]. They lived communally in a dilapidated hut, earning their livelihood as packing house workers. Eventually, Yisrael began working as a contractor installing irrigation pipes in orchards, and the family emerged from their financial difficulties. Yisrael and Rivka had one daughter.

=== Intelligence in the Pre-State Era ===
With the outbreak of [[World War II]], Yisrael felt he could not continue his profitable work while his friends enlisted in the [[British Army]] or the [[Palmach]]. In 1942, he approached the [[Haganah]] in Herzliya and volunteered. This was during the period when [[Erwin Rommel]]'s German forces were advancing toward Palestine (a period known as the "200 Days of Dread"). The Haganah decided that priority should be given to the defense of the land and sent Yisrael to a Haganah commander's course. Upon returning from the course, he was assigned to the coastal guard in British uniforms, but his main activity was within the Haganah's intelligence service, the [[Shai (Haganah unit)|Shai]]. Yisrael was reassigned from the coastal guard after he assaulted a corrupt British officer who made [[antisemitic]] remarks. He was placed in the [[Jewish Settlement Police]] (the Notrim) while continuing his role in the Shai.

In 1944, Yisrael was summoned by [[Israel Amir]] (Zabludovsky), the commander of the Shai, who informed him that he was being assigned to serve in the Shai headquarters in [[Tel Aviv]]. This marked the beginning of his long career in commanding positions within the intelligence services of the pre-state Yishuv and later the intelligence community of Israel.

Yisrael began working at the Shai headquarters in Tel Aviv at the end of 1944, serving as the secretary of the "Jewish Department." The department was headed by Yosef Karo, and Yisrael served as his assistant. The department's role was internal security, and it dealt, among other things, with gathering intelligence on underground movements that did not accept the authority of the national institutions, such as the [[Irgun]] and [[Lehi (militant group)|Lehi]], as well as on the activities of [[Communism|communists]]. A few months after starting as the department's secretary, Yisrael was appointed to head the department.

In 1947, Yisrael's name came to the attention of [[David Ben-Gurion]]. He was introduced to Ben-Gurion and reported on the activities of his department. During that meeting, Ben-Gurion decided to rename the "Jewish Department" to the "Internal Department." Yisrael succeeded in his role and became an unofficial spokesman for the Shai. He maintained fair relations with members of other underground movements, who were under his department's surveillance.

At the Shai headquarters, Yisrael earned the nickname "Isser the Small," both due to his short stature and to distinguish him from "Isser the Great," [[Isser Be'eri]] (Birenzweig), who joined the Shai headquarters in 1947 and was tall in stature. Be'eri later became the head of Israeli Military Intelligence, but was dismissed following the Ali Qassem Abed al-Qader affair.

In 1947, Yisrael was appointed the commander of the Tel Aviv District of the Shai, responsible for gathering intelligence from Arab [[Jaffa]]. This was a challenging period for the Shai, following Black Saturday and due to the decline in the number of Arab informants, a result of the national awakening among Jaffa's Arabs leading up to the [[1947–1949 Palestine war|War of Independence]]. Yisrael took steps to recruit new sources and succeeded in doing so. Shortly before the declaration of the State of Israel, Yisrael deployed an Arab agent on a mission to [[Amman]] to assess Jordan's intentions and whether they planned to go to war. The agent reported that the Jordanians intended to join the war, and Yisrael hurried to inform Ben-Gurion.

=== Intelligence in the State of Israel ===
Upon the establishment of the State of Israel, Yisrael was given the rank of [[Lieutenant Colonel]], then one of the highest ranks, just below [[Colonel]] (the rank of Aluf-Mishneh was only added in 1950, and the rank of [[Tat Aluf]] was introduced only after the [[Six-Day War]]). He was appointed to head the "Shin Bet" (General Security Service), a branch of the [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]]. (Later, the service became an independent organization outside the IDF framework, also known as the [[Shin Bet]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Melman|first1=Yossi|last2=Raviv|first2=Dan|title=Shadow Wars: The Mossad and the Israeli Intelligence Community|page=51}}</ref>

The service under Yisrael's leadership had to be built from scratch, determining its principles, organizational structure, and methods of operation. One of the basic principles he established was that the employees of the organization had to be full-fledged government employees, with appropriate ranking, salary, and social benefits, without the special privileges and perks typically associated with secret service personnel in undemocratic countries. Another principle set by Yisrael was that employees had to maintain a high moral standard, with no criminal background and no adventurist tendencies.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Melman|first1=Yossi|last2=Raviv|first2=Dan|title=Shadow Wars: The Mossad and the Israeli Intelligence Community|page=56}}</ref> This principle, he claimed, was not adopted by military intelligence at that time, leading to scandals such as the Avri Elad and Mordechai Kedar cases.

Yisrael also decided to break down the political and party-based barriers that existed before the establishment of the state. He employed, without distinction, former members of the Haganah, Palmach, Irgun, and Lehi in the Shin Bet and later in the [[Mossad]]. This inclusive approach allowed individuals such as [[Yitzhak Shamir]], a former commander of the Lehi and later [[Prime Minister of Israel]], to be integrated into Israel's intelligence services. This policy contrasted with the prevailing sentiment of the time, expressed by [[David Ben-Gurion]] in his policy of "Without Herut and Maki", which marginalized members of the political right. Employing right-wing figures in government institutions was not common practice.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Melman|first1=Yossi|last2=Raviv|first2=Dan|title=Shadow Wars: The Mossad and the Israeli Intelligence Community|page=57}}</ref>

During the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]], the Shin Bet was primarily engaged in internal security matters. After the war, the service expanded its operations to include [[counter-espionage]] and the monitoring of [[Israeli Arabs]] for intelligence purposes.

=== Involvement with Ben-Gurion and political surveillance ===
At this time, Yisrael grew closer to Prime Minister and Minister of Defense [[David Ben-Gurion]]. Much of the information he provided Ben-Gurion around 1951 pertained to subversive activities against the state. However, in addition to providing intelligence of national importance, Yisrael also supplied politically charged information, including recommendations for actions by [[Mapai]] (Ben-Gurion's party) and details of developments within opposition parties.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bar-Zohar|first1=Michael|title=Ben-Gurion: A Biography|volume=2|chapter=14|pages=927–928}}</ref>

In 1951, the [[Mossad]] for Intelligence and Special Operations was established, with [[Reuven Shiloah]] as its head. In September 1952, Shiloah resigned and suggested to David Ben-Gurion that Yisrael Halperin (now known as Isser Harel) replace him.