Rafi Eitan, who died on March 23, was the Israeli Mossad agent who captured Adolf Eichmann. But he was also the handler who closed the door on Jonathan Pollard, when Pollard needed him most. Did his years as a spymaster erode his humanity?
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afi Eitan, a fighter, spymaster, and politician, passed away last month at the age of 92. He was a man of dueling identities: With his thick glasses and soft features, he resembled an endearing grandpa, but behind the jovial veil was a hardened spy and seasoned fighter who juggled people’s lives in an almost cavalier way.
Even among the ranks of the intelligence community, Eitan stood out for his loose mouth and his arrogant talk of past operations. Though he at one point served in the Knesset, Eitan possessed none of the typical politician’s charisma or diplomatic rhetoric. Years of espionage had turned the little boy from Ein Harod into a tough cynic who viewed his job as a zero-sum game.
Against the backdrop of history, Rafi Eitan will always be known for his two most famous operations — one a source of pride, the other a source of infamy. If he leaves any legacy, it’s a murky one replete with question marks. In the final analysis, the same man who won acclaim for masterminding the daring capture of Adolf Eichmann was also the callous handler who couldn’t — or wouldn’t — open the door to save Jonathan Pollard when the Jewish spy needed him most.
Stinky Rafi
Rafi Eitan was born in Ein Harod, a kibbutz in northern Israel, to Yehudit and Noach, chalutzim who came from Russia on the Third Aliyah. His childhood was, by all accounts, peaceful and idyllic.
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