Eli Zeira ( he, אלי זעירא) (born 1928) is a former

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 the Israel Defense Forces. He was director of Aman, Israel's military intelligence, during the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Eg ...

. He is most remembered for his ill-conceived prewar assessment that

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

and Syria would not attack (also known as "The Concept"), despite intelligence to the contrary. The postwar Agranat Commission, set to investigate the reasons for the costly war, found Zeira to be negligent of his duty, and he resigned. In 2004, former

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 ...

Director-General

Zvi Zamir Zvi Zamir ( he, צבי זמיר) born Zvicka Zarzevsky (born 3 March 1925) is a former major general in the Israel Defense Forces and the director of the Mossad from 1968 to 1974. He is currently retired and lives in Israel. Early life Born i ...

accused Zeira of leaking the identity of

Ashraf Marwan Ashraf Marwan ( ar, أشرف مروان‎, 2 February 1944 – 27 June 2007) was an Egyptian billionaire, who worked as a spy for Israeli Mossad. Egyptian officials claim he was a double agent who also worked for them. From 1969, Marwan w ...

, an Egyptian billionaire who served as a Mossad informant. The State Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal investigation, which proved inconclusive and was closed in 2012.

References

1928 births Living people Directors of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel) Israeli generals People from Haifa {{Israel-mil-bio-stub