Yitzhak Shamir

Yitzhak Shamir was a prominent Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister of Israel. He was a former member of LEHI (Stern Gang), a Jewish terrorist group, and later became a prominent figure in Mossad, serving as operations chief for Europe.¹

Anti-American Sentiments and Soviet Relations

Shamir was known for his anti-American sentiments, stemming from his belief that the U.S. was partially responsible for the Holocaust. He sought to open lines of communication between Israel and the East Bloc countries, particularly after becoming prime minister in 1983. He authorized intelligence exchanges with the Soviet Union, including sanitized American intelligence reports about nuclear issues and evaluations of Soviet nuclear technology.¹

Coalition Government and Arms Trading

Shamir was a key figure in the Likud Party. He formed a bizarre coalition government with Shimon Peres of the Labor Party in 1984, sharing the roles of prime minister and foreign minister. Shamir had a close relationship with Rafi, who served as his counterterrorism adviser and later ran the Iran-Israel Joint Committee. Shamir was involved in the decision to supply Iran with arms in its war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, believing it was in Israel's national security interest.¹

Pollard Espionage Case

Shamir was also involved in the Jonathan Pollard espionage case, authorizing the transfer of Israeli intelligence gleaned from the United States to the Soviet Union. During his tenure as prime minister (1984-1986), Shamir authorized some of the Pollard material to be sanitized, retyped, and turned over to Soviet intelligence officials as a gesture of Israeli goodwill. This decision was consistent with his personal and political beliefs, as he viscerally disliked the United States and was fascinated with strong regimes, viewing the U.S. as "soft, bourgeois, materialistic and effete." He believed that by relaying the Pollard information to the Soviets, he was demonstrating that Israel could be a much more dependable and important collaborator in the Middle East than the "fickle" Arabs. Shamir's actions, if exposed, would have meant the end of the increasingly shaky Likud coalition and put the overall Israeli–United States relationship at risk.¹²

Shamir was furious when the North group leaked the Pollard story, and sought to nip the newcomers in the bud.¹

Palestinian and Regional Policy

Shamir opposed U.S. peace initiatives that would involve giving up territory in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and believed that Jordan should be the Palestinian state. Despite this public stance, Shamir initiated secret attempts to negotiate a solution to the Palestinian situation with the PLO, discussing a plan to unseat King Hussein of Jordan and establish a Palestinian state there.¹

Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Programs

Shamir authorized Ari Ben-Menashe to undertake a secret mission to Peru to acquire nuclear substances for Israel's tactical atom bomb program. Shamir was confronted by Ari Ben-Menashe regarding the chemical weapons trade to Iraq and the need to secure the release of Israeli soldiers held in Lebanon. He initially refused to release C-130 aircraft to Iran until the Israeli soldiers were freed, but later changed his mind. He also intervened to put on hold the execution list of individuals deemed enemies of the state of Israel.¹