Ora Ben-Shalom

Ora Ben-Shalom is the wife of Ari Ben-Menashe. She was born in the United States to a Canadian Jewish mother and an Austrian Jewish father. Her family moved to Israel when she was 12, and they changed their family name from Friedman to Ben-Shalom. The family was religiously observant and ultra-rightwing politically.¹

Ora joined the External Relations Department (ERD) of the Israel/Military Intelligence as a first lieutenant in 1979, where she met Ari Ben-Menashe. She was fluent in English, Spanish, and Hebrew. She later left the ERD in 1980 to work for Mossad and was appointed to a prestigious position in public relations at the Hilton International in Jerusalem, while remaining a Mossad "operative."¹

After the deaths of Freddie and Herut (Ari Ben-Menashe's daughter), Ora and Ari Ben-Menashe began a relationship in late 1986, eventually living together in Jerusalem. She traveled with him on various business trips to Europe.¹

In August 1987, Ora was put under surveillance and interrogated by SHABAK (Israel's internal security agency) after she was discovered meeting with CIA people in Tel Aviv. She admitted to talking to the Americans about Ben-Menashe and his knowledge of the Iran-Contra Affair. Her ties with Mossad were terminated, but Ben-Menashe intervened to prevent her prosecution, claiming she was pregnant and they planned to marry. Their daughter, Shira, was born on July 22, 1988.¹

In October 1989, Ora and Ari Ben-Menashe planned a vacation to Sydney, Australia. However, Ben-Menashe was arrested in Los Angeles before they could depart. Ora later divorced Ari Ben-Menashe in Israel.¹