Rafi Eitan facts for kids
Rafael Eitan (born November 23, 1926 – died March 23, 2019) was an important Israeli politician and a skilled intelligence officer. He led a political party called Gil and served as the Minister of Senior Citizens. He was in charge of a Mossad operation that led to the capture of Adolf Eichmann, a major figure from World War II. Eitan also advised Prime Minister Menachem Begin on fighting terrorism. In 1981, he became the head of the Bureau of Scientific Relations, an important intelligence group. He later took responsibility for an event involving Jonathan Pollard and resigned, after which the Bureau was closed. From 1985 to 1993, he led a government chemicals company, helping it grow a lot. After 1993, he became a businessman, working on large farming and building projects in Cuba. He was also the chairman of an organization for senior citizens.
Quick facts for kids
Rafi Eitan
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| Ministerial roles | |
| 2006–2009 | Minister of Pensioner Affairs |
| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 2006–2009 | Gil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 November 1926 Ein Harod, Mandatory Palestine |
| Died | 23 March 2019 (aged 92) Tel Aviv, Israel |
Contents
Early Life and Education
Raphael (Rafi) Hantman, who later changed his name to Eitan, was born on a Kibbutz called Ein Harod. This was during the time when the British ruled Palestine. His parents were Zionist immigrants from Russia who came to Palestine in 1923. His father, Noah Hantman, was a farmer and a poet, and his mother, Yehudit Volwelsky, was active in social causes.
Rafi was one of four children. The family lived in a small settlement called Shalom, which later became Ramat HaSharon. Eitan went to a regular junior high school. He finished his high school studies at the Agricultural School in Givat HaShlosha in 1940. Later, he studied economics at the London School of Economics.
Rafi Eitan was also a talented sculptor. Over 30 years, he created more than 100 sculptures. He even had his own art show at a high-tech company.
Eitan passed away at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv on March 23, 2019. He was 92 years old. His funeral was held the next day, and he was buried in Netanya.
Military Service
After finishing high school in 1944, Eitan joined the Haganah. This was a Jewish defense organization. He then joined the Palmach, which was an elite unit of the Haganah. He helped Jewish refugees from Europe secretly enter Palestine. These refugees were escaping Nazism. During this time, he met Yitzhak Rabin, who later became an Israeli Prime Minister.
Eitan took part in several secret operations. One was a raid on the Atlit detainee camp to free Jewish immigrants held by the British. He also participated in the Night of the Bridges, an operation to blow up bridges. Another famous operation was blowing up a British radar station on Mount Carmel near Haifa. This radar was used to track ships carrying Jewish immigrants. To reach the radar, Eitan had to crawl through sewers, which earned him the nickname 'Rafi the Stinker'. This nickname helped tell him apart from another famous Israeli named Rafael Eitan.
During an operation to help Jewish immigrants, Eitan was hurt in a mine explosion. He became almost completely deaf and used hearing aids for the rest of his life.
During the civil war in Mandatory Palestine and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Eitan was a soldier in the Yiftach Brigade. He fought in battles and was wounded the day after Israel declared its independence. He also worked as an intelligence officer.
Intelligence Work
After serving as an intelligence officer, Eitan moved into leadership roles in Israel's internal intelligence agency, the Shin Bet. Later, he became the Chief of Coordination between the Shin Bet and the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency. This role led to one of his biggest achievements: the capture of Adolf Eichmann.
After Israeli intelligence found Eichmann in Argentina, Eitan and his team traveled there to capture him. They brought him back to Israel, where he was put on trial. Eichmann was found guilty of terrible crimes against the Jewish people during World War II. While working on the Eichmann mission, Eitan decided not to capture another person, Josef Mengele, who was also being watched by the Mossad. Eitan believed that trying to capture Mengele at the same time might put the Eichmann mission at risk.
From 1964 to 1966, Eitan led a two-year operation. During this time, weapons sold by Germany to the Egyptian government mysteriously disappeared. At that time, Israel and Egypt did not have a peace treaty.
In 1968, Eitan visited a nuclear fuel plant in the United States, pretending to be a chemist. Later, it was found that a large amount of a special type of uranium had gone missing from the plant. It was suggested that this material was sent to Israel in an event known as The Apollo Affair.
Eitan was also involved in planning and carrying out the attack on the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor in June 1981. This operation aimed to prevent Iraq from developing nuclear weapons.
In June 1984, Eitan was responsible for an intelligence operation involving Jonathan Jay Pollard. Pollard was an American naval intelligence analyst. This operation lasted about a year and a half. It ended when Pollard was arrested. Eitan took responsibility for this operation and resigned from his position. The Bureau for Scientific Relations, which Eitan headed, was then closed down.
After leaving the intelligence world in 1972, Eitan worked in the private sector, raising tropical fish and other agricultural businesses. However, in 1978, Prime Minister Menachem Begin asked him to return as his advisor on terrorism. Eitan was seen as a highly respected expert in this area. In 1981, he was named head of the Defense Ministry's Lekem, the Bureau for Scientific Relations.
Following the closure of Lekem, Eitan was offered the job of leading the state-owned Israel Chemicals Corporation. He retired from this role in 1993 when he was 67. During his time there, the company grew very quickly in sales, development, and the number of employees. It became the largest government-owned company in Israel.
Business Ventures
In 1992, Eitan was asked to bid on a large farming project in Cuba. This project involved growing a huge citrus fruit farm. After winning the bid, Eitan partnered with four other international business people to manage the project. Their company, BM Group, was set up in Panama and traded with Israeli suppliers.
Because this project was so successful, BM Group also won the contract to build the World Trade Center in Havana. They also built a memorial in the old city of Havana. The Cuban government even gave BM Group an award for its agricultural work.
The BM Group has also expanded its business to other parts of Latin America. They run various farming projects in countries like the Dominican Republic.
Political Career
In 2006, Eitan was asked to represent the pensioners' party, Gil, in the Knesset elections. Many people thought the party would not win many seats, but it surprised everyone by winning seven seats. In the 2009 elections, however, the party did not get enough votes, and Eitan lost his seat in the Knesset.
In 2018, Eitan caused some surprise when he publicly supported a far-right political party in Germany called Alternative for Germany (AfD). He said that he believed they could become an important party for Europe. This statement was met with strong reactions, including from Israel's Ambassador to Germany, who expressed sadness and shame.
Published Works
- Ish Hasod ("The Secret Man"), 2020
