Giora Tzahor (27 October 1941 – 16 July 2012) was an Israeli military and

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

officer, known for having headed Israel's efforts to abduct

Mordechai Vanunu Mordechai Vanunu ( he, מרדכי ואנונו; born 14 October 1952), also known as John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician and peace activist who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israe ...

Biography

George Weiss (later Giora Tzahor) was born in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, to a Jewish family during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During the German occupation of France, he was hidden and raised in a monastery. At age 17, he visited Israel, and made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

on his own a year later. On 16 July 2012, Tzahor was killed in a traffic accident while riding his mountain bike in central Israel. He was rushed to

Hillel Yaffe Medical Center The Hillel Yaffe Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי הלל יפה) is a major hospital on the western edge of Hadera, Israel. It serves a population of about 450,000 residents in an area ranging from Zikhron Ya'akov in the north to Netanya ...

Hadera Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5&nbs ...

, where efforts to save him failed.

Military and intelligence career

He joined the

Armored Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. He became a tank commander, and completed an officers' course. He reached the rank of Lieutenant, and became the deputy commander of Battalion 46. During the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

, his tank unit came across

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian tanks in

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

. Although outnumbered, his unit destroyed seven Jordanian tanks. Tzahor was severely injured in the battle, suffering burns across his body. Doctors did not expect him to survive his injuries. However, he recovered, and six years later, he was awarded the

Medal of Valor This list of medals for bravery is an index to articles about notable medals awarded for bravery or valor. These medals, usually associated with military forces, police forces, or other public safety entities, are given to personnel who have serv ...

.Notice of Tzahor's death in ''Yedioth Ahronoth''
/ref> In 1968, Tzahor was recruited into

, Israel's foreign intelligence services, and was one of the founders of Mossad's

Kidon Kidon ( he, כידון, "bayonet", "javelin" or a "spear") is the elite unit within Israel's Mossad that is allegedly responsible for the planning and execution of clandestine assassination campaigns against enemies of the Israeli state. Unc ...

("spear") unit, which conducts assassinations overseas. He took part in dozens of Mossad operations. In the late 1970s, was appointed deputy director of the Kidon unit, and became its commander in 1984. In 1986, Tzahor was in charge of Mossad's operation to abduct

from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Vanunu, a former Israeli nuclear technician at the

Negev Nuclear Research Center The Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center ( he, קריה למחקר גרעיני – נגב ע"ש שמעון פרס, formerly the ''Negev Nuclear Research Center'', unofficially sometimes referred to as the ''Dimona reactor'') is an Israe ...

, had left Israel and leaked secrets about Israel's nuclear program to the British media. Vanunu was successfully abducted after being lured to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and was smuggled to Israel by sea. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Tzahor retired from Mossad in 1992, and in 1993 was awarded a medal for his service by Mossad Director-General

Shabtai Shavit Shabtai Shavit ( he, שבתי שביט; born 17 July 1939) is a former director general of the Israeli Mossad from 1989 to 1996. Biography Shavit first joined the Israeli Navy, where he later went on to serve in the Sayeret Matkal. From 1978 to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tzahor, Giora Place of birth missing People of the Mossad Road incident deaths in Israel 1941 births 2012 deaths Israeli Jews Recipients of the Medal of Courage