EITAN, RAFAEL (ISRAEL)

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06826001
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2019
• Case Number: F-2019-01414
• Publication Date: February 12, 2008

Approved for Release: 2019/09/27 C06826001
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This profile does not reflect developments since 12 February 2008.
Rafael EITAN
(Phonetic: ay-TUHN)
Minister for Pensioner Affairs (since 2006)
Addressed as: Mr. Minister (U)
Eitan's GIL (Pensioners) party, which
had been established in the runup to the election in
2006, scored a surprise that same year by winning
seven of 120 Knesset seats. A frequent adviser to
past Israeli leaders and a longtime friend of former
Prime Minister (2001-06) Ariel Sharon, Eitan is best
known as the man who handled US intelligence
officer Jonathan Pollard.
Eitan has an excellent memory and is a
quicK tilmKer.
Shifted His Focus to Security Issues
Eitan campaigned for the Knesset on a pledge to
improve the lives of Israelis over the age of 65, but
since the election he has devoted more time to
Israel's strategic security issues with the
Palestinians. Eitan in 2006 said that he would act to
expand medical support for the elderly, secure a
pension for every person, and increase the
allowances for needy older citizens; however, his
attempts to increase social welfare funding to
pensioners have failed.In late 2007, Eitan was
unable to increase payments to Holocaust
survivors�a group that forms approximately one
third of pensioners in Israel. Eitan caused
controversy when he suggested paying for this by
reopening the reparations agreement Israel signed
with Germany in the 1950s. He later backtracked,
but one Israeli pundit characterized the '
publicity stunt to improve GIL's image.
Eitan
escribed himself as pragmatic and realistic
on diplomatic and security 'ssues but by early 2007
he appeared more hawkish.
ISRAEL
�
In late 2007, Eitan supported a bill that limited
Prime Minister Ehud Ohnert's ability to negotiate
with the Palestinians on Jerusalem and
Israel had not promised to
halt settlement construction within the municipal
borders of Jerusalem.
Scoring a Surprise Victory
Eitan in 2006 stunned Israeli political
commentators when GIL won seven Knesset seats in
the national election.
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By focusing on social
issues, Eitan demonstrated that GIL could ignore
diplomatic and security issues and still succeed
Engaging in Risky Business
Eitan's private business activities at times have
attracted public criticism, especially in the case of
his controversial business ties to Cuba. His dealings
in that country's agricultural sector made him
wealthy but brought him unflattering publicity for
(continued)
LP 08-100213
12 February 2008
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working with Havana against competing Israeli
businesses. In 1997, Eitan told an interviewer that a
colleague and a Cuban official prevailed on him to
invest in Cuba's citrus industry. Eitan visited Cuba
in 1992 and helped form the BM Group to develop
the country's agricultural infrastructure. Eitan
received an award from Cuban President Fidel
Castro for his contributions to the country's citrus
industry Eitan
maintained close relations with Castro until Eitan
became a minister and cut off his business activities
in Cuba
A Legendary Career
Eitan achieved media acclaim and notoriety as a
result of his career with Israeli intelligence. He
joined the Shin Bet domestic security service in
1950 after completing his military service, turning
away from a prospective career in farming at the
urging of then Shin Bet chief Isser Hare!
Eitan later joined Mossad, and in
1960 he commanded and participated in he
operation that captured Adolf Eichmann.
Eitan left
Mossad in 1972 after realizing that he would not
achieve his goal of heading the organization.
Eitan's retirement in 1972 was brief, and his close
ties to Sharon paved the way for his appointment to
a series of government posts. In 1974, Sharon�then
Prime Minister (1974-77) Yitzhak Rabin's security
adviser�made Eitan his assistant and in 1978
recommended that then Prime Minister (1977-83)
Menachem Begin appoint Eitan as his
counterterrorism adviser. In this position, Eitan
angered many Israelis with his statement to the
Knesset that Israel could expect 100 years of
terrorism. In 1981, Sharon appointed Eitan to head
the Bureau of Scientific Liaison (LAKAM), a
former unit of the Defense Ministry devoted to
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scientific and technological espionage. From
LAKAM, Eitan handled Pollard, saying in March
2006 that the unit had received such high-quality
information that Eitan was reluctant to end the
operation. In late 2006 he told an interviewer in the
Israeli press that he regretted having Pollard spy on
the United States because Israel could have obtained
the same information through legal means. Once
implicated in the Pollard affair, Eitan in 1986 was
named chairman of the board of directors of the
state-owned Israel Chemicals with Sharon's
backing, a posting described
as a reward for Eitan's espionage in the United
States. He returned to private business five years
later after quarreling with Sharon over the
management of the company.
Personal Data (U)
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Eitan was born in the British Mandate of Palestine
in Kibbutz Eyn Herod in 1926, but he later moved
with his parents to Ramat Hasharon. At the age of
12, Eitan joined the Haganah, a forerunner to the
modem Israeli army, and entered the elite Palmach
commando unit on completion of high school in
1944. While in the Palmach, he engaged in
clandestine operations to assist the illegal
immigration of Jewish refugees who were fleeing
Nazism from Europe into Palestine. During this
time, Eitan earned the nickname "Stinking Rafi"
after falling into a cesspit during an operation. He
holds a degree in economics from the University of
London. (b)(3)
Eitan is a talented sculptor, and he frequently
exhibits his work in Israeli galleries. He and his
wife, Miriam, have three children and several
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grandchildren
walking and poor vision, and
aids in both ears
Eitan has trouble
he wears hearing
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Approved for Release: 2019/09/27 C06826001