26 Facts About Rafi Eitan

Rafael Eitan was an Israeli politician and intelligence officer.

Rafi Eitan led Gil and served as Minister of Senior Citizens.

Rafi Eitan was in charge of the Mossad operation that led to the arrest of Adolf Eichmann.

Rafi Eitan served as an advisor on terrorism to Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and in 1981 he was appointed to head the Bureau of Scientific Relations, then an intelligence entity on par with Mossad, Aman and Shabak.

Rafi Eitan assumed responsibility for and resigned over the Jonathan Pollard affair, and the Bureau was disbanded.

Rafi Eitan was subject to an arrest warrant issued by the United States FBI.

Rafi Eitan's parents were Zionist immigrants from Russia who came to Palestine in 1923.

Rafi Eitan's father, Noah Hantman, was a farmer and poet, and his mother Yehudit Volwelsky was a social activist.

Rafi Eitan went to a regular public junior high school, but finished his high school studies at the Agricultural School in Givat HaShlosha in 1940 before going to the London School of Economics for his BSc in Economics.

Rafi Eitan had a one-man show at the offices of the high-tech company "Brown".

Rafi Eitan died at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv on 23 March 2019, at the age of 92.

Rafi Eitan was buried in Netanya in a civil ceremony.

Rafi Eitan joined the Haganah and then the Palmach, the elite unit of the Haganah, upon completion of high school in 1944.

Rafi Eitan took part in a raid on the Atlit detainee camp to free illegal Jewish immigrants being detained by the British, the Night of the Bridges, and the November 1946 killings of two Templers to deter the rest of the German Templer community from returning to their homes in Palestine following World War II.

Rafi Eitan relied on hearing aids for the rest of his life.

Later, Rafi Eitan served as Chief of Coordination between Shin Bet and Mossad.

Rafi Eitan argued that redirecting the mission's focus to incorporate capturing Mengele could jeopardize the larger goal of bringing Eichmann to justice.

In 1968 Rafi Eitan, posing as an Israeli Ministry of Defense chemist, visited the US Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation nuclear fuel plant.

Rafi Eitan was involved in the planning and implementation of the attack on the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor in June 1981.

In June 1984, Rafi Eitan was responsible for an espionage operation against the United States during which he recruited Naval Intelligence Analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard to steal American intelligence material.

Rafi Eitan continued his work in intelligence until 1972, when he left the organization and went on to the private sector, raising tropical fish and other agricultural ventures.

In 1981, Rafi Eitan was named head of the Defense Ministry's Lekem, the Bureau for Scientific Relations, replacing Israeli spy-master Benjamin Blumberg, where he continued work on counter-terrorism.

Rafi Eitan's arrest revealed the existence of Lekem to US authorities.

In 1992, Rafi Eitan was approached to bid on a contract for an agricultural deal in Cuba, which involved the cultivation of the largest citrus grove cooperative on the island.

Rafi Eitan was asked to represent the pensioners' party Gil in the 2006 Knesset elections.

In 2018 Rafi Eitan caused surprise and shock in Israel and Germany when he publicly endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany party.