Yehoshua Sagi ( he, יהושע שגיא; 27 September 1933 – 18 February 2021) was an Israeli intelligence officer and politician. He was director of the Military Intelligence Directorate (1979–1983) a Knesset member for

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

(1988–1992) and mayor of the coastal city of

Bat Yam Bat Yam ( he, בַּת יָם or ) is a city located on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In 2020, it had a population ...

Biography

Yehoshua Sagi was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

during the Mandate era. He attended a local high school and later earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in history and international relations from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

Military career

Sagi entered the Israeli Defense Forces in 1951. From 1953 to 1954, he served in the Southern Command, fulfilling field duties. During the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

in 1956, he served as intelligence officer of the Armored Corps and as commander of a reconnaissance unit. Following the 1956 war, he served as an intelligence officer with the 7th Brigade, and later as assistant intelligence officer. From 1967 until 1970, he was an intelligence officer in the Southern Command, and during the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

was a divisional intelligence officer. In 1974 he became assistant to the head of research at the Military Intelligence Directorate. After serving as deputy head beginning in 1978, he rose to become head of Military Intelligence in 1979. Sagi opposed

Operation Opera Operation Opera ( he, מבצע אופרה), also known as Operation Babylon, was a surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. ...

, the 1981 Israeli attack on the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor, saying "I do not believe fears of a 'Second Holocaust' justify the Israeli military taking any steps it thinks fit". During the leadup to the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

, Sagi was charged by Prime Minister

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...

with obtaining some form of American approval for an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon. The result was the admission by U.S. Secretary of State

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these c ...

that the infiltration of terrorists over any of Israel's borders constituted a violation of the July 1981 ceasefire, but not terrorist actions against Israeli or Jewish targets outside of the region. Saguy was asked to resign in 1983 following the recommendations of the Kahan Commission, which had determined that he was guilty of indifference during

massacres A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

refugee camps A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

in Israeli-occupied

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Saguy subsequently resigned from the army."Around the world; Israeli General Resigns From Army"
The New York Times, 15 August 1983

Political career

After leaving the IDF, he won a place on the Likud list for the 1988 elections, and won a seat in the Knesset. He served on the Finance Committee, the

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( he, ועדת חוץ וביטחון) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense issues of the State of Israel, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over rel ...

and the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, until losing his seat in the 1992 elections. The following year, he became mayor of

, a post he held until 2003.

References

Citations

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sagi, Yehoshua 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Jerusalem Jews in Mandatory Palestine Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli generals Mayors of places in Israel People from Bat Yam Likud politicians Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) Directors of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel)