---
born: 1927-01-25
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2014-09-15
location: Tel Aviv, Israel
summary: Yitzhak Hofi was the director of Mossad, Israel's primary foreign intelligence
  service.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Yitzhak Hofi was the director of [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/), [Israel](/places/israel/)'s primary foreign intelligence service. He opposed the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [Osirak bombing](/events/osirak-bombing/) in June 1981, primarily because there was no evidence that [Iraq](/places/iraq/) was yet capable of building a bomb. He was joined in this futile dissent by [Yehoshua Saguy](/people/yehoshua-saguy/), chief of military intelligence, and [Yigael Yadin](/people/yigael-yadin/), the deputy prime minister.[^1]

Two weeks after the Osirak bombing, Hofi gave an unprecedented newspaper interview, criticizing politicians who were compromising secret intelligence. This was widely understood within the Israeli intelligence community as a criticism of Prime Minister [Menachem Begin](/people/menachem-begin/)'s public remarks about a secret underground facility.[^1]

[Rafael Eitan](/people/rafael-eitan/) had a need to settle old scores with [Yitzhak Hofi](/people/yitzhak-hofi/), the head of [Mossad](/organizations/mossad/), and [Avraham Shalom](/people/avraham-shalom/), Shin Beth's director. This personal ambition and need for revenge drove Eitan's actions, including the recruitment of [Jonathan Pollard](/people/jonathan-pollard/).[^2]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 1.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 21.