Danny Yatom ( he, דני יתום, born 15 March 1945) is a former

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i politician who served as a member of the Knesset for

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

. In 1996–1998, Yatom was head of the

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

and between 1999 and 2001, he served as Prime Minister Ehud Barak's Chief Of Staff and security advisor.

Biography

Danny Yatom was born and raised in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate ...

, his brother is Ehud Yatom. He studied mathematics,

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which rel ...

, and

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 1963 to 1996, he served in the Israel Defense Forces and worked in the

Sayeret Matkal General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (formerly Unit 269 or Unit 262), more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal ( he, סיירת מטכ״ל) is the special reconnaissance unit (''sayeret'') of Israel's General Staff (''matkal''). It is the prime special ...

force, rising to the position of deputy commander, after which he moved to the Armor Corps and then became the head of the Israeli Central Command, ranked

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. In 1994, Yatom served as the IDF commander for the West Bank. As commander during the events of the

cave of the Patriarchs massacre The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre or the Hebron massacre, was a shooting massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli extremist and member of the far-right Kach movement. On 25 ...

, Yatom testified before the

Shamgar Commission The Shamgar commission was the official Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in late 1995. Its objective was to investigate the chain of events leading up to the assassination, and th ...

. Between 1996 and 1998, he served as head of the Mossad.

Political career

Between 1999 and 2001, he served as Prime Minister

Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Ja ...

's Chief Of Staff and security advisor. He then became a

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

member and served in the 16th and 17th Knesset, from 2003 until June 2008, when he resigned from the Knesset and from Israeli politics. In 2003, he was elected to the Knesset on Labour's list, and served as head of the committee on foreign workers, as well as chairing the lobbies for enlisted soldiers and the

West Bank barrier The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian co ...

. He retained his seat in the

2006 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2006. * Elections in 2006 * Electoral calendar 2006 * 2006 Acehnese regional election * 2006 American Samoan legislative election * 2006 Bahraini parliamentary election * 2006 Costa Rican presidenti ...

and served as head of the West Bank barrier lobby. He retained his seat in the

, but resigned from the Knesset on 30 June 2008, stating that he was "not willing to be part of a political reality in which basic values are trampled upon, such as leading by example, ethics, and integrity". He was replaced by

Leon Litinetsky Leon Litinetsky ( he, לאון ליטינצקי, born 2 August 1967) is an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party between 2008 and 2009, and for Yisrael Beiteinu between 2014 and 2015. Biography Born in K ...

. In January 2021, Yatom announced that he will found a new political party for retirees.

References

External links

*
Former chief of Mossad not wary of Gaydamak
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yatom, Danny Israeli Jews Directors of the Mossad 1945 births Living people Recipients of the Medal of Distinguished Service Israeli Labor Party politicians Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)