Shaul Avigur ( he, שאול אביגור; 11 September 1899 – 29 August 1978) was a founder of the

Israeli Intelligence Community The Israeli Intelligence Community is made up of Aman (military intelligence), Mossad (overseas intelligence) and Shabak (internal security). Current agencies * Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman): the supreme military-intelligence bran ...

Biography

Avigur was born in Dvinsk (now

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

) under the name Saul Meyeroff (''later'' Meirov; he, מאירוב), but when his son Gur Meyeroff was killed in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, he changed it to ''Avigur'', meaning "Father of Gur". Along with

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 ...

, Avigur was instrumental in forming

SHAI Shai (also spelt Sai, occasionally Shay, and in Greek, Psais) was the deification of the concept of fate in Egyptian mythology. As a concept, with no particular reason for associating one gender over another, Shai was sometimes considered femal ...

, the intelligence wing 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 ...

, in 1934. Since 1939 he was involved in the

Mossad Le'aliyah Bet The Mossad LeAliyah Bet ( he, המוסד לעלייה ב', lit. ''Institution for Immigration B'') was a branch of the paramilitary organization Haganah in British Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel, that operated to facilitate ...

operations to smuggle Jews into the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

and was named its commander. During the

, he acted as David Ben-Gurion's deputy defense minister. In 1953 he was appointed the founding head of the "Liaison Bureau" ( Lishkat Hakesher), also known as "Nativ", an Israeli organization that maintained contact with Jews in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. He headed the organization until 1970. Avigur was the brother-in-law of former Prime Minister

Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett ( he, משה שרת, born Moshe Chertok (Hebrew: )‎ 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was a Russian-born Israeli politician who served as Israel's second prime minister from 1954 to 1955. A member of Mapai, Sharett's term was b ...

Awards

In 1973, Avigur was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, for his special contribution to society and the State.

Notes

References

* * 1899 births 1978 deaths Military personnel from Daugavpils People from Dvinsky Uyezd Jews from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Ashkenazi Jews in Ottoman Palestine Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Aliyah Bet activists Haganah members People of Israeli intelligence agencies Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients {{Israel-bio-stub

Biography

Awards

See also

Notes

References