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 in Latvia) under the name Saul Meyeroff (''later'' Meirov; he, מאירוב), but when his son Gur Meyeroff was killed in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he changed it to ''Avigur'', meaning "Father of Gur". Along with Reuven Shiloah, 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, in 1934. Since 1939 he was involved in the Mossad Le'aliyah Bet 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 1948 Arab–Israeli War, 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 List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

during the Cold War. 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, 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