Obituary | The wrath of God

Zvi Zamir oversaw a programme of Israeli assassinations

The former director of Mossad, who oversaw a programme of covert assassinations, died on January 2nd, aged 98

Zvi Zamir speaks at a memorial service.
Photograph: Flash90

He would never forget what he saw at Munich. Zvi Zamir had always been a details man. Even when he was head of Mossad, his reports were meticulous. He noted everything, success and failure alike. But particularly failure: that he felt keenly. And the 1972 Olympics, when some of the Israeli team were taken hostage, offered such terrible details, and so much failure.

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This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “The wrath of God”

From the January 27th 2024 edition

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