Yaakov Nimrodi ( he, יעקב נמרודי, born 1 June 1926) is an Israeli businessman and former Israeli intelligence officer. Nimrodi, the father of Ofer Nimrodi, was the chairman of ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms, ...

'', which he acquired in 1992.

Biography

Yaakov Nimrodi was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, one of ten children. He was recruited into intelligence work at the age of 16, by

Yitzhak Navon Yitzhak Rachamim Navon ( he, יצחק נבון; 9 April 1921 – 6 November 2015) was an Israeli politician, diplomat, playwright, and author. He served as the fifth President of Israel between 1978 and 1983 as a member of the centre-left ...

, a childhood friend who later became

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

. Nimrodi joined a special unit of the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmac ...

which specialized in gathering intelligence on Arab countries. After Israeli independence in 1948, he was assigned to a military intelligence unit in the south of Israel, where he met

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

, later

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Nimrodi
2008 In 1956, he was appointed the IDF military attaché and Israel Defense Ministry representative in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

. There he was involved in Israel's large-scale arms sales to Iran in the 1960s. "No Israeli representative in Iran during the Shah's regime was more significant or influential than Nimrodi." During this time Nimrodi provided "advice and training" to Iran's

SAVAK SAVAK ( fa, ساواک, abbreviation for ''Sâzemân-e Ettelâ'ât va Amniat-e Kešvar'', ) was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service in Iran during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. SAVAK operated from 1957 until prim ...

secret service.

Business career

Nimrodi returned to Israel after the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979, but continued to be involved in arms trading, including a $135m sale of arms to Iran in 1981. Nimrodi played a central role in the early stages of the Iran-Contra affair. He published a book on the affair in 2004.Yossi Melman, ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'', 20 May 2004
Jackob Nimrodi tells his version
/ref> In 1987 Nimrodi acquired

Israel Land Development Company Israel Land Development Company (ILDC) ( he, הכשרת הישוב, Hachsharat HaYishuv) is one of Israel's largest conglomerates, with fields including real estate, construction, energy and hotels. It was acquired in 1987 by Yaakov Nimrodi. Hist ...

for $26m. In 1992, he bought the Israeli newspaper ''

'' jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Encyclopaedia Judaica: Nimrodi
2008

Published works

* ''התקווה והמחד: פרשת איראנגייט'', Maariv Publishing, 2004 (''Irangate: A Hope Shattered'')

References

External links

Nimrodi Archive at YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimrodi, Yaakov 1926 births Living people Arms traders Israeli businesspeople in real estate Iraqi Jews Israeli chief executives Israeli Jews Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Maariv (newspaper) people People of the Mossad