What Was the Lavon Affair?
Israel has always been famous for the work of its intelligence agencies: The Mossad, Shin Bet, and AMAN have a history of pulling off incredible feats. However, their early history was also often marred by failures. The Lavon Affair of 1954 was not only a political disaster for Israel, but it was also devastating for Egypts Jewish community. The failed intelligence operation had major repercussions on the early Arab-Israeli conflict, leading to the Suez Crisis of 1956.Egypt and Israel After the 1948 WarGamal Abdel Nasser, 1962. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWhen the United Nations announced its plans to partition Palestine and recognize Israels independence in 1948, Egypt was one of the most vociferous opponents. At the time, Egypt was ruled by King Farouk, a leader bent on staying in power for as long as possible. He was firmly opposed to the creation of Israel because he believed the state would be hostile to Egypt. After the destruction of Palestinian militias in the aftermath of the partition, Arab armies, including Egypt, attacked Israel. Their failure led to Israel seizing territory at their expense and led to a frozen conflict with the introduction of a UN peacekeeping force.Both Egypt and Israel were in the new stages of development in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In Israel, the new government sought to build the state and incorporate new immigrants after decades of British rule in the Mandate of Palestine. The army patrolled the borders against Palestinian raids while the country set up institutions to strengthen national security. Israel had won their independence at a high cost and hoped that building a strong, industrious state would help the country recover.South of the border, Egypt was also modernizing. Their armys only success was in taking control of the Gaza Strip, and King Farouks rule had been very divisive. In 1952, the Free Officers Movement led by General Mohamed Naguib and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the king and sought to modernize the state. This revolution led to the rise of Egypts most famous modern leader and opened a new chapter in Middle East history.The Jewish Community in EgyptEgyptian Jewish family at a bar-mitzvah in the 1950s. Source: WJCFor nearly 2,000 years, Jewish people had lived in Egypt and had survived repeated wars, civil unrest, and colonial rule. The population by the late 1940s was estimated at 80,000 to 100,000 and was composed of a mixture of communities: Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi. It was a relatively prosperous section of Egyptian society and disproportionately represented in Egypts middle class. Having mainly resided in Cairo and Alexandria, Jewish communities made significant contributions to Egyptian culture during the centuries they lived there.1948 saw a major change for this community. Zionism was popular among certain elements of the Jewish community, which led to anger from Egyptian officials and broader society. Very few Egyptian Jews supported their countrys war effort against Israel. The Egyptian Armys failure to defeat Israel led to attacks on Egyptian Jews, and a general belief existed that the Jews in Egypt were foreigners hostile to Egyptian nationalism. The 1948 war led to the first exodus of Egyptian Jews, with a third of the community leaving.However, much of the community decided to remain at home for the time being, believing that anger over the war would subside. The 1952 Revolution was even welcomed by Egyptian Jews and the Israeli state, who believed it would bring stability and end some of the violence against Jews. Naguib and Nasser promised to respect Egyptian minorities and sought to have calm on the countrys borders. For the time being, Egyptian Jews decided to wait and see what the future would bring for them.Israeli Fears of Nassers RegimeEgyptian troops on parade, 1955. Source: Museum of African Art in Belgrade / Wikimedia CommonsDespite initially welcoming the 1952 Revolution, Israel soon saw the new regime as a mortal threat. Nasser may have publicly welcomed the truce with Israel but privately began preparing for a new war. To modernize his military, he invited former Nazis to Egypt including veterans of the North African campaign. His government also continued a practice from King Farouks rule of arming and training Palestinian militants known as the fedayeen, who raided Israeli border towns and military outposts. These raids infuriated Israeli officials, who demanded that Egypt stop the attacks.Israel hoped to get Western countries to align with them against Egypt. However, British and American officials remained in contact with the Free Officers Movement and were reluctant to side entirely with Israel. The US government in particular hoped that Egypt would join the international coalition against the Soviet bloc during the early years of the Cold War. Nasser hoped to distance Egypt from the United Kingdom, but that proved difficult due to Britains sustained influence in the region. Ironically, both Egypt and Israel aimed to be non-aligned in the Cold War. This meant that Israel and Egypt both purchased Western-made arms and received economic aid.Egypts control over the Suez Canal alarmed Israel. Jerusalem believed that Nassers government would use the Canal to blackmail the West into cutting off arms sales to Israel. The Israelis also thought that revenue from the Canal would bring in more funds for military upgrades. As a result, Israeli officials began plotting actions to push Egypt away from the West and undermine Egypts military readiness.The PlanIsraeli Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon, 1951. Source: Center for Israel EducationIn the early 1950s, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion became convinced that the British would soon evacuate their bases in the Suez Canal Zone, meaning that there would be no protection against an Egyptian attack on southern Israel. The Israelis lacked intelligence on the intentions of Nassers government, and this lack of information panicked many senior government officials in Jerusalem. This paranoia remained when Ben-Gurion stepped down in 1953.His replacement was the quiet and restrained Moshe Sharett, who desired a period of calm with Israels neighbors. Many of his cabinet officials were of the opposite opinion, believing that another attack was inevitable and only Western aid could stop it. US backing of the Nasser government angered some Israelis, including defense minister Pinhas Lavon. While Lavon began working with IDF intelligence personnel to infiltrate Egypt, head of military intelligence Colonel Binyamin Gibli wanted to go further.Undercover agents from Unit 131 were supposed to attack Western governmental targets in major cities. They would pretend to be members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who were opponents of Nassers regime. To make their cover identities stronger, the unit was composed of Jews recruited in Egypt rather than Israeli citizens.The plan was due to come into operation in the summer of 1954. Sharett was not made aware because of fears that he would shut it down. The plan was exceptionally risky because if the Americans or British found out that the Israelis were planning to stage a false-flag attack against them, it could lead to a total breakdown in relations.Collapse of Unit 131Marcelle Ninio, one of the spies arrested by Egypt. Source: Wikimedia CommonsUnit 131 was composed of 12 people who were trained extensively by their Israeli handlers. The operation was known as Operation Susannah. Its leaders, Avraham Seidenberg and Avraham Dar, were confident they could succeed. However, Israel underestimated the scrutiny that Egyptian Jews were under by Nassers security services. They managed to target a couple of American-owned libraries and cinemas, but within a couple of days, almost every unit member except two was arrested. One of them even had a bomb blow up in his pocket on his way to the target.The Americans and British were privately livid when the details of the operation came to light, but their reaction was not as aggressive as the Israelis feared. None of the targets bombed were significant, and no American or British citizens were hurt. However, London and Washington became very concerned that Nasser would retaliate and aimed to soothe him privately by urging him to continue to negotiate with the Israelis.Nasser ended up doing the opposite. Egypt went public with the accusations that the Israelis recruited local Jews to carry out terror attacks in their country. The Israelis denied that this took place, but the country was under an intense censorship regime, and much of their public was not aware of what was going on. In 1955, the arrested spies were sentenced: two to death, two were acquitted, and six others received lengthy prison terms. Despite major protests from other world leaders, Moshe Marzouk and Shmuel Azar were executed by hanging.The Consequences of the ScandalDavid Ben-Gurion. Source: Center for Israel EducationSharett was livid with the IDF for planning an operation behind his back. In February 1955 Lavon resigned as minister of defense and was replaced by Ben-Gurion, claiming that he had been framed by Ben-Gurions supporters. Sharetts own political future was in decline as Ben-Gurion returned as prime minister in November. Ben-Gurion responded by distancing himself from the Lavon Affair and downplaying Israeli intelligence operations in Egypt. The jailed spies were left in limbo because Israel did not claim them as their own and they were not citizens of the Jewish state. The details of the operation were swept under the rug by Israels ferocious censorship regime.The Lavon Affair doomed any attempt for a rapprochement between Israel and Egypt. Nasser and many of his close aides became convinced that Israel was seeking to occupy the Sinai Peninsula up to the Suez Canal. At the same time, he began feuding with the British and the French due to his opposition to their presence in North Africa.Israeli troops on the Sinai Peninsula, 1956. Source: Ohio State UniversityWhen Nasser moved to nationalize the Suez Canal, this marked his break with the West. The Israelis decided that the time had come for an offensive into the Sinai to stop Palestinian raids into southern Israel. This would be followed by a British and French operation to seize control of the canal and force Nasser to accept their terms. Although militarily successful, the operation was a major embarrassment to the British and the French, who were opposed by both the United States and the Soviet Union, and Nasser gained considerable sympathy on the international stage.For Egyptian Jews, the Lavon Affair and the Suez Crisis proved to be fatal. The fact that members of their community had participated in an Israeli intelligence operation meant that the whole community was suspect. The next couple of decades saw more persecution and expulsions as the community withered away. An inquiry in Israel cleared Lavon of any wrongdoing, while Seidenberg was accused and jailed for being an Egyptian spy. Despite Israels attempts to distance itself from the fallout, the scandal continues to have an impact on the reputation of Israeli military intelligence.
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