Shai (, an acronym for ''Sherut Yediot'' (), lit. ''Information Service''), established in 1940, was the intelligence and

counter-espionage Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or o ...

arm of the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

and the forebear of the Military Intelligence Directorate in

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

History

During the

Second World War 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 ...

, the British

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

supplied the Haganah with weapons, training and funding, and the Haganah provided linguistic experts and operatives. The British provided

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

training for special operations to both Shai operatives and FOSH veterans through a training school designated ME 102, which was set up by MI4. Following the defeat of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, "... until 1948 the SHAI's primary objectives included the promoting of an independent Israeli state; infiltrating British mandate offices in order to inform the Jewish and Zionist leadership of British attitudes and proposed actions; collecting political information that could be used as

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

; penetrating Arab and anti-Zionist factions in Palestine and abroad; and providing security for the arms-smuggling and illegal immigration programmes of the Haganah."

David Shaltiel David Shaltiel ( he, דוד שאלתיאל; 16 January 1903 - February 1969) was an Israeli military and intelligence officer, later also diplomat, and was most well known for being the district commander of the Haganah in Jerusalem during the 1 ...

was appointed head of Shai in April 1946; he was succeeded by

Isser Be'eri Isser Be'eri ( he, איסר בארי, born Isser Birenzweig; 1901 - January 1958) was the director of the Haganah Intelligence Service in Israel and was responsible for helping to reorganise Israeli intelligence services in 1948, as well as order ...

in February 1948.

Shabtai Teveth Shabtai Teveth (1925 – 1 November 2014) was an Israeli historian and author. Teveth was born in 1925 and grew up in the worker' quarters at the Migdal Tzedek quarry, where his father worked, near Petah Tikva. He began working as a journalist f ...

, "Ben-Gurion's Spy." 1996. . Page xvii. By 1948, Shai had 68 staff members, 60 British and Jewish agents, and 80 Arab agents, and spent almost $700,000 per year.Adelman, 2008, p. 156. It was responsible for protecting ''Ta'as'', the clandestine munitions industry and ''

Rekhesh Rekhesh ( he, רֶכֶשׁ, ''lit.'' Acquisitions) was the arms and munitions procurement branch of the Haganah Jewish defense force in Mandatory Palestine, in the middle 1940s, at a time when the British were not allowing the Jews to have arms. ...

'', the arms procurement organisation. Famous Shai operatives included

Reuven Shiloah Reuven Shiloah ( he, ראובן שילוח; December 1909 – 1959) was the first Director of the Mossad from 1949 to 1953. Biography Reuven Zaslani (later Shiloah) was born in Ottoman-ruled Jerusalem. His father was a rabbi. Shiloah married ...

and

Nahum Admoni Nahum Admoni ( he, נחום אדמוני; born November 21, 1929) is an Israeli former intelligence officer who served as the Director-General of the Mossad from 1982 to 1989. Admoni was born in Jerusalem in Mandatory Palestine. His parents, El ...

. Shai was one of five intelligence agencies set up by

David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the name ...

, the others being the internal security agency

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

, the

Aliyah Bet ''Aliyah Bet'' ( he, עלייה ב', "Aliyah 'B'" – bet being the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet) was the code name given to illegal immigration by Jews, most of whom were refugees escaping from Nazi Germany, and later Holocaust sur ...

, responsible for smuggling immigrants, and the police intelligence forces.

History

References

Further reading