Mifgash

[Mark Stapleton]

Whether this (secret) meeting was connected to the assassination is open to debate, but its close proximity to the assassination--November 13-14, 1963--has always intrigued me.

Cohen's 'Israel and the bomb' explains the background to the meetings: (pp171-172)

The first US-Israeli security dialogue took place in July 1962. The first exchange was meant to be a one time meeting, not an institutional discussion. The idea of high level, regular security dialogues was presented to (Israeli PM) Eshkol by (Deputy Ambassador) Mordechai Gazit in late August 1963. Eshkol liked the idea and presented it days later in his ministerial consultations, authorising the Israeli Embassy in Washington to give it a prominent place in their coming discussions with US officials. Meir raised the idea, along with a request for tanks and missiles, with Rusk in New York in late September. The secretary agreed to such high-level US-Israeli exchanges within weeks, particularly to discuss missile and other nonconventional weaponry developments in Egypt. Deputy Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Colonel Aharon Yariv were to represent Israel in that strategic exchange set for mid-November....

The dialogue took place in two sessions on 13-14 November. On the question of the significance of the Egyptian missile development program there was a difference of opinion.....The US rejected the view that there existed any operational Egyptial missile capability, and considered the effort to be in an early research and develpment stage. It also doubted that Nasser had the technical or financial means to produce a force of one thousand missiles, as Israeli reports suggested, which Americans estimated would cost half a billion dollars. The Kennedy Administration did not share the Israeli view that the Egyptian missile program constituted a real immediate danger to Israel, and opposed providing American surface-to-surface missiles to Israel.

They also differed on the question of the probability of an Egyptian surprise attack on Israel. Ben-Gurion was obsessed with Israel's vulnerability to such a possibility, a concern that played an important role in his decision to develop a nuclear option. American officials, however, were less impressed by the danger.....

The only aspect of the dialogue on which Rabin and Komer reached an understanding was the issue of tanks: the IDF nedded to modernise its old Sherman fleet........

So, except for the promise to update their old Sherman tank fleet, Israel had little joy from this dialogue.

The Israeli delegation packed up and left for home, one might presume. But no, Yitzhak Rabin was in Dealey Plaza on November 22, according to his wife's bio, published after Rabin's death. Strangely, Rabin failed to mention this fact in his own memoirs.

Rabin and Yariv were taken on a tour of facilities by top US Military officials, yet somehow Rabin ended up in Dealey Plaza on November 22.

So, my suggestion is, what issues were discussed between the Israeli brass and the US Military AFTER the official dialogue concerning Egypt and its missiles was over?

Final preparations between US and Israeli Military Intelligence for Kennedy's removal is my guess.

[Sid Walker]

Whether this (secret) meeting was connected to the assassination is open to debate, but its close proximity to the assassination--November 13-14, 1963--has always intrigued me.

Cohen's 'Israel and the bomb' explains the background to the meetings: (pp171-172)

The first US-Israeli security dialogue took place in July 1962. The first exchange was meant to be a one time meeting, not an institutional discussion. The idea of high level, regular security dialogues was presented to (Israeli PM) Eshkol by (Deputy Ambassador) Mordechai Gazit in late August 1963. Eshkol liked the idea and presented it days later in his ministerial consultations, authorising the Israeli Embassy in Washington to give it a prominent place in their coming discussions with US officials. Meir raised the idea, along with a request for tanks and missiles, with Rusk in New York in late September. The secretary agreed to such high-level US-Israeli exchanges within weeks, particularly to discuss missile and other nonconventional weaponry developments in Egypt. Deputy Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Colonel Aharon Yariv were to represent Israel in that strategic exchange set for mid-November....

The dialogue took place in two sessions on 13-14 November. On the question of the significance of the Egyptian missile development program there was a difference of opinion.....The US rejected the view that there existed any operational Egyptial missile capability, and considered the effort to be in an early research and develpment stage. It also doubted that Nasser had the technical or financial means to produce a force of one thousand missiles, as Israeli reports suggested, which Americans estimated would cost half a billion dollars. The Kennedy Administration did not share the Israeli view that the Egyptian missile program constituted a real immediate danger to Israel, and opposed providing American surface-to-surface missiles to Israel.

They also differed on the question of the probability of an Egyptian surprise attack on Israel. Ben-Gurion was obsessed with Israel's vulnerability to such a possibility, a concern that played an important role in his decision to develop a nuclear option. American officials, however, were less impressed by the danger.....

The only aspect of the dialogue on which Rabin and Komer reached an understanding was the issue of tanks: the IDF nedded to modernise its old Sherman fleet........

So, except for the promise to update their old Sherman tank fleet, Israel had little joy from this dialogue.

The Israeli delegation packed up and left for home, one might presume. But no, Yitzhak Rabin was in Dealey Plaza on November 22, according to his wife's bio, published after Rabin's death. Strangely, Rabin failed to mention this fact in his own memoirs.

Rabin and Yariv were taken on a tour of facilities by top US Military officials, yet somehow Rabin ended up in Dealey Plaza on November 22.

So, my suggestion is, what issues were discussed between the Israeli brass and the US Military AFTER the official dialogue concerning Egypt and its missiles was over?

Final preparations between US and Israeli Military Intelligence for Kennedy's removal is my guess.

Facinating.

This is the actual extract from Leah Rabin's 'Our Life, His Legacy' as far as I can tell (I don't have access to a printed copy)

pages 119 and 120

November of 1963.

Chapter 6

Sabra Statesman

Our first joint visit to teh United States (Yitzhak had been there before) took place in November 1963, just before Yitzhak was appointed chief of staff of the IDF. In preparation for that appointment, Yitzhak embarked on a high-level orientation trip to America. I can appreciate now how momentous it was to have visited the United States at that precise time. We went to New York and Washington, and Yitzhak traveled to several other cities, mainly military centers and installations-all so exciting and awesome and the source of many important new ideas.

I remember Yitzhak making an offhand comment to me on our way home to Israel: "you know, when I finish my term as chief of staff, I'll be ready to replace Abe Harman." Harman was Israel's ambassador in Washington at the time. Yitzhak's premonition later materialized.

Our 1963 trip to the United States lasted three weeks. I was astonished at the size and the excitement of New York. This was a fast-moving lifestyle, unlike anything I had known in Europe or Israel. Dalia and Yuval, along with a number of officers, met us at Lod Airport in Tel Aviv upon our return. We were told that President Kennedy had been shot-his condition was as yet unclear. We had never met the Kennedys, but we could sense how the promise of John Kennedy's future had stirred Americans and imagined how devasting it would be if something serious had happened to him. Just as we walked in the door of our home, I picked up the phone to hear shocking news: John F. Kennedy was dead. To have just returned for the United States and for Yitzhak to have been in Dallas just hours before-albeit as mere coincidence; Fort Bliss was a stop on his military briefing tour-was disorienting. Yitzhak was about to become chief of staff and had just completed an intensive study of state-of-the-art defense and security practices from the most powerful nation in the world, and suddenly we learned that this country's chief executive was slain by a lone gunman.

Since the 1963 visit, Yitzhak's belief in America's importance to Israel's defense grew steadily. When Yitzhak first proposed to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol that he wanted to leave the military and become ambassador to the United States, Eshkol said, "hold on to me or I'll fall out of my chair." He simply couldn't imagine that Yitzhak would want to become an ambassador with all the cocktail parties and receptions and society small talk that came with the job.

[Ron Ecker]

The Israeli delegation packed up and left for home, one might presume. But no, Yitzhak Rabin was in Dealey Plaza on November 22, according to his wife's bio, published after Rabin's death. Strangely, Rabin failed to mention this fact in his own memoirs.

His wife's bio says he was "in Dallas." I know of no evidence that he was in Dealey Plaza. Unless, of course, he's one of the candidates for Frenchy. (How tall was Rabin?)

Also Rabin could hardly have been at the scene of the crime, then arrive in Tel Aviv with his wife just as word was received of the assassination. He left Dallas "hours before" (to quote his wife), if not a day or two before, as he apparently rejoined his wife in New York.

[Sid Walker]

The Israeli delegation packed up and left for home, one might presume. But no, Yitzhak Rabin was in Dealey Plaza on November 22, according to his wife's bio, published after Rabin's death. Strangely, Rabin failed to mention this fact in his own memoirs.

His wife's bio says he was "in Dallas." I know of no evidence that he was in Dealey Plaza. Unless, of course, he's one of the candidates for Frenchy. (How tall was Rabin?)

Also Rabin could hardly have been at the scene of the crime, then arrive in Tel Aviv with his wife just as word was received of the assassination. He left Dallas "hours before" (to quote his wife), if not a day or two before, as he apparently rejoined his wife in New York.

I agree.

The only source I can find on the web for the inference that Rabin was in Dallas at the time of the shooting is Barry Chamish (although a lot of opther folk have picked up on his comments). I don't dismiss everything he says automatically. But what Chamish says needs to be taken with caution, in my opinion... to say the least.

That's why I found the original extract (as far as I know), which Chamish doesn't cite in full.

On the other hand, the timing, circumstances and itinerary of Rabin's visit - and his role in the Israeli Government at that time - suggest he could have been involved in the assasination plot at the organizational level. Indeed, if Piper's thesis about the JFK slaying is essentially correct, Rabin almost certainly was involved. Someone at his level, assigned to visit the USA at that time, would almost certainly have been in the loop, along with Aharon Yariv.

The latter, incidentally, was to direct Operation 'Wrath of God' under Golda Meir, some ten years later.

Clearly at that later date, he was deemed to be the best available co-ordinator of undercover assassinations.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Sid Walker

[Greg Parker]

The Israeli delegation packed up and left for home, one might presume. But no, Yitzhak Rabin was in Dealey Plaza on November 22, according to his wife's bio, published after Rabin's death. Strangely, Rabin failed to mention this fact in his own memoirs.

His wife's bio says he was "in Dallas." I know of no evidence that he was in Dealey Plaza. Unless, of course, he's one of the candidates for Frenchy. (How tall was Rabin?)

Also Rabin could hardly have been at the scene of the crime, then arrive in Tel Aviv with his wife just as word was received of the assassination. He left Dallas "hours before" (to quote his wife), if not a day or two before, as he apparently rejoined his wife in New York.

I agree.

The only source I can find on the web for the inference that Rabin was in Dallas at the time of the shooting is Barry Chamish (although a lot of opther folk have picked up on his comments). I don't dismiss everything he says automatically. But what Chamish says needs to be taken with caution, in my opinion... to say the least.

That's why I found the original extract (as far as I know), which Chamish doesn't cite in full.

On the other hand, the timing, circumstances and itinerary of Rabin's visit - and his role in the Israeli Government at that time - suggest he could have been involved in the assasination plot at the organizational level. Indeed, if Piper's thesis about the JFK slaying is essentially correct, Rabin almost certainly was involved. Someone at his level, assigned to visit the USA at that time, would almost certainly have been in the loop, along with Aharon Yariv.

The latter, incidentally, was to direct Operation 'Wrath of God' under Golda Meir, some ten years later.

Clearly at that later date, he was deemed to be the best available co-ordinator of undercover assassinations.

Leah Rabin was probably geographically confused in writing the following: "To have just returned for the United States and for Yitzhak to have been in Dallas just hours before-albeit as mere coincidence; Fort Bliss was a stop on his military briefing tour-was disorienting."

She seems to associate Fort Bliss with being in or near Dallas, whereas a quick look at a map shows it's actually near El Paso. My guess therefore is, he was never in Dallas - but El Paso.

[Mark Wilson]

Whether this (secret) meeting was connected to the assassination is open to debate, but its close proximity to the assassination--November 13-14, 1963--has always intrigued me.

Cohen's 'Israel and the bomb' explains the background to the meetings: (pp171-172)

The first US-Israeli security dialogue took place in July 1962. The first exchange was meant to be a one time meeting, not an institutional discussion. The idea of high level, regular security dialogues was presented to (Israeli PM) Eshkol by (Deputy Ambassador) Mordechai Gazit in late August 1963. Eshkol liked the idea and presented it days later in his ministerial consultations, authorising the Israeli Embassy in Washington to give it a prominent place in their coming discussions with US officials. Meir raised the idea, along with a request for tanks and missiles, with Rusk in New York in late September. The secretary agreed to such high-level US-Israeli exchanges within weeks, particularly to discuss missile and other nonconventional weaponry developments in Egypt. Deputy Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence Colonel Aharon Yariv were to represent Israel in that strategic exchange set for mid-November....

The dialogue took place in two sessions on 13-14 November. On the question of the significance of the Egyptian missile development program there was a difference of opinion.....The US rejected the view that there existed any operational Egyptial missile capability, and considered the effort to be in an early research and develpment stage. It also doubted that Nasser had the technical or financial means to produce a force of one thousand missiles, as Israeli reports suggested, which Americans estimated would cost half a billion dollars. The Kennedy Administration did not share the Israeli view that the Egyptian missile program constituted a real immediate danger to Israel, and opposed providing American surface-to-surface missiles to Israel.

They also differed on the question of the probability of an Egyptian surprise attack on Israel. Ben-Gurion was obsessed with Israel's vulnerability to such a possibility, a concern that played an important role in his decision to develop a nuclear option. American officials, however, were less impressed by the danger.....

The only aspect of the dialogue on which Rabin and Komer reached an understanding was the issue of tanks: the IDF nedded to modernise its old Sherman fleet........

So, except for the promise to update their old Sherman tank fleet, Israel had little joy from this dialogue.

The Israeli delegation packed up and left for home, one might presume. But no, Yitzhak Rabin was in Dealey Plaza on November 22, according to his wife's bio, published after Rabin's death. Strangely, Rabin failed to mention this fact in his own memoirs.

Rabin and Yariv were taken on a tour of facilities by top US Military officials, yet somehow Rabin ended up in Dealey Plaza on November 22.

So, my suggestion is, what issues were discussed between the Israeli brass and the US Military AFTER the official dialogue concerning Egypt and its missiles was over?

Final preparations between US and Israeli Military Intelligence for Kennedy's removal is my guess.

Hi Mark.Thanks for the interesting passage from Cohen's book,i haven't read the book and had never seen this reference before.Although we share in the theory that there was Israeli involvement of some sort in the execution of JFK,I am a bit skeptical that these Nov 13-14 sessions were directly connected with 11/22/63.The main reasons for my doubts are the Nov 2 Chicago and Nov 18 Tampa apparent plots on JFK's life as well as the information we know in regards to Oswald being in place at the TSBD a month or so earlier than the Nov 13-14 meetings.In my estimation JFK was a dead man walking before Nov 13-14,the Nov 2 Chicago plot already stymied and the Nov 18 plot just a few days from being exposed...On the other hand in defense of your theory regarding the Nov 13-14 sessions being directly related to 11/22/63,i guess it is possible that the plot against JFK was to be carried out on Nov 2 and if it fell through,Nov 18 was the next opportunity, and finally Nov 22 as the third option with these 3 dates all part of the conspiracy.The Nov 13-14 meetings could very well have had discussions on what went wrong on Nov 2 and was an ironing out of the details to make the coup successful on Nov 18 or 11/22/63......It would be interesting to know the timing of scheduling of the Nov 13-14 meetings.....Knowing what we know now ,it would be hard to imagine a better set of circumstances than the Dallas trip presented when you consider relative silence of the DPD(with the exception of Roger Craig),Earl Cabell,LBJ's backyard/influence/connections,Jack Ruby, and the seemingly stand down of proper security on the Dallas trip(especially in the context of Nov 2 and Nov 18).....

What is the probability that Jack Ruby was a Mossad agent?Imo,there is little or no doubt that Ruby was CIA and there is also a high level of certainty,imo, that Mossad would be very interested in having Ruby as a double agent.

[Mark Stapleton]

Sid, Ron, Greg and Mark,

Thanks for your responses.

Sid, thanks for posting that extract from Leah's bio. I got it wrong. She said Dallas not Dealey.

Ron, I agree. There seems to be some confusion regarding Leah's recollections. However, the point is Rabin and Yariv didn't need to be at ground zero when the shots started. A well planned execution wouldn't necessarily require them to be witnesses. The fact that they had been nearby shortly before the assassination, and in the company of the top brass of the US for the previous 10 days or so suggests to me that something more than an innocent 'tour of facilities' was afoot. Other factors which arouse my suspicious nature are Rabin's amnesia and the fact that Israel's best and brightest military intelligence minds were liasing in company with their American counterparts right up to the eve of the assassination. If anyone was capable of executing what I believe was a carefully planned military operation, these are the guys. The mob, LBJ, Texas oil and even the CIA weren't up to it, but that's only my opinion.

Greg, your guess is as good as mine--I guess. Trouble is, a 'tour of facilities', by its very nature allows the tourists (and their gracious hosts) plenty of latitude to go wherever the hell they want. Visiting a place where there are no existing facilities is not out of the question, imo. It could be explained away on any number of pretexts. In any case, the entire tour of facilities caper may have been a charade to disguise 7 to 10 days of intense planning. There was much planning to be done in the pre-assassination phase, I would assume.

Mark, good points. On the plan to assassinate JFK in Chicago I must confess to scant knowledge of the intricate details. There are members here whose knowledge of this event far exceed mine. The only thing I recall is the incident regarding the elusive Homer Echhevaria who was apprehended while attempting to organise some kind of assassination plot. Curiously, he apparently remarked to CIA or FBI agents that "our new backers are Jews", upon which the entire episode was promptly extinguished from the public record on orders from Washington.

The Miami/Tampa plot is also interesting. Perhaps it was aborted because the local police could not be trusted to do as they were told. Perhaps a survey revealed that there were no satisfactory vantage points for the shooting. Or perhaps it was dry run, used only to scrutinise the actions and behavior of the Secret Service. One thing I've always wondered regarding that motorcade: Was it filmed? Many fascinating photos of that motorcade have been posted on the Forum with smilin' Bill Greer at the wheel. I would assume the plotters filmed it and studied it carefully. One wonders whether the US and Israeli brass took time off from their busy schedule to pay close attention to JFK's visit to Florida.

Was Ruby a Mossad agent? It's possible but his behavior doesn't seem to fit the template for a Mossad agent. He was headstrong and quick tempered. FWIW, I think he was persuaded to kill Oswald by Lansky, through an intermediary. As well as being revered by all as the elder statesman of organised crime, Lansky was also connected to naval intelligence. Lansky was part of a naval intelligence project named B-3 during WW2 which was under the command of Lieutenant Commander Charles Haffenden. He was assigned his own code number as a naval intelligence contact.

Finally, the other strange thing about Mifgash is why was there such haste on the part of all parties to get this 'dialogue' up and running? Rusk and the Americans already knew that JFK was going to give the thumbs down to Israel's request for surface-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of Israel's old Sherman tank fleet hardly required a 'security dialogue', imo. The US Military rarely needs its arm twisted to sell conventional weaponry to willing customers. Why did the US Secretary of State agree so quickly when he knew this dialogue was going to be a waste of time? JFK had already turned down Ben-Gurion's repeated requests for a formal defence pact between the two nations because he didn't want to damage relations with Arab nations in the region. His position on Dimona was plain. Why the sudden urgency from the US and Israeli military for a dialogue which had limited prospects of breaking new ground?

What the hell was Mifgash all about? We haven't been told but I suspect the worst.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Mark Stapleton

[Ron Ecker]

Added question: Why did Rabin leave the entire second half of 1963 out of his autobiography? As if nothing of any consequence happened on either the Israeli or American side, or even in his personal life.

Reminds me of E. Howard Hunt leaving the entire year out of his autobiography Undercover. Again it was such an uneventful time. (Hunt made up for it in his last book, in which he fingered LBJ, in a plot which Hunt wanted nothing, I say nothing, to do with, because it involved that crazy Bill Harvey. But apparently they told Hunt all about it anyway. "Need to know" or compartmentalization is all a bunch of hooey.)

[Sid Walker]

Finally, the other strange thing about Mifgash is why was there such haste on the part of all parties to get this 'dialogue' up and running? Rusk and the Americans already knew that JFK was going to give the thumbs down to Israel's request for surface-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of Israel's old Sherman tank fleet hardly required a 'security dialogue', imo. The US Military rarely needs its arm twisted to sell conventional weaponry to willing customers. Why did the US Secretary of State agree so quickly when he knew this dialogue was going to be a waste of time? JFK had already turned down Ben-Gurion's repeated requests for a formal defence pact between the two nations because he didn't want to damage relations with Arab nations in the region. His position on Dimona was plain. Why the sudden urgency from the US and Israeli military for a dialogue which had limited prospects of breaking new ground?

What the hell was Mifgash all about? We haven't been told but I suspect the worst.

Mark... forgive me if I missed something, but where have you explained the name of this thread's title?

[Mark Stapleton]

Finally, the other strange thing about Mifgash is why was there such haste on the part of all parties to get this 'dialogue' up and running? Rusk and the Americans already knew that JFK was going to give the thumbs down to Israel's request for surface-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of Israel's old Sherman tank fleet hardly required a 'security dialogue', imo. The US Military rarely needs its arm twisted to sell conventional weaponry to willing customers. Why did the US Secretary of State agree so quickly when he knew this dialogue was going to be a waste of time? JFK had already turned down Ben-Gurion's repeated requests for a formal defence pact between the two nations because he didn't want to damage relations with Arab nations in the region. His position on Dimona was plain. Why the sudden urgency from the US and Israeli military for a dialogue which had limited prospects of breaking new ground?

What the hell was Mifgash all about? We haven't been told but I suspect the worst.

Mark... forgive me if I missed something, but where have you explained the name of this thread's title?

Good question, Sid.

The meaning of Mifgash I don't know. It comes from Cohen's book page 172, paragragh 2:

Israel had a broader agenda for the November secret meeting (code named Mifgash) than the US was willing to discuss......

Cohen goes on to outline how Israel was seeking to enhance its deterrent capability, but I believe the meeting facilitated an even broader agenda, which ultimately did indeed allow Israel to enhance its deterrent capability, with the full support of the US Joint Chiefs, if you get my drift.

Is there a Hebrew translation for Mifgash?

It should be remembered that Cohen was arrested and briefly detained by Israeli authorities while undertaking a speaking tour of Israel in 2000. They were keen to find out how he had gained access to such sensitive information.

'Israel and the Bomb' is probably the most meticulously researched book I have ever read, given the secrecy surrounding the subject matter. As you know, Cohen was shocked when Piper cited several portions of the book when making a case for Israeli complicity in JFK's assassination. Cohen didn't realise what light his work shed on a dark and mysterious corner of modern history.

The result of a research and writing grant in 1989, Cohen's book contains some 100 interviews (some of the interviewees asked not to be named) and sources a wide variety of archives, Government documents, personal collections, English and foreign language newspapers, unpublished materials, minutes of Cabinet meetings, journal articles, essays and books. It also boasts an extensive glossary of individuals, and English and foreign language acronyms.

In a nutshell, if you want the skinny on Israel's nuclear weapons program from 1956 to 1998, and how they managed to pull it off, this is your reference.

My favorite from the glossary of individuals is this one:

Teddy Kollek (1911- ) Hungarian born. Hagannah operative in the United States (1947-1952); Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office under David Ben-Gurion (1954-1963); mayor of Jerusalem (1965-1996).

[Greg Parker]

Finally, the other strange thing about Mifgash is why was there such haste on the part of all parties to get this 'dialogue' up and running? Rusk and the Americans already knew that JFK was going to give the thumbs down to Israel's request for surface-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of Israel's old Sherman tank fleet hardly required a 'security dialogue', imo. The US Military rarely needs its arm twisted to sell conventional weaponry to willing customers. Why did the US Secretary of State agree so quickly when he knew this dialogue was going to be a waste of time? JFK had already turned down Ben-Gurion's repeated requests for a formal defence pact between the two nations because he didn't want to damage relations with Arab nations in the region. His position on Dimona was plain. Why the sudden urgency from the US and Israeli military for a dialogue which had limited prospects of breaking new ground?

What the hell was Mifgash all about? We haven't been told but I suspect the worst.

Mark... forgive me if I missed something, but where have you explained the name of this thread's title?

Good question, Sid.

The meaning of Mifgash I don't know. It comes from Cohen's book page 172, paragragh 2:

Israel had a broader agenda for the November secret meeting (code named Mifgash) than the US was willing to discuss......

Cohen goes on to outline how Israel was seeking to enhance its deterrent capability, but I believe the meeting facilitated an even broader agenda, which ultimately did indeed allow Israel to enhance its deterrent capability, with the full support of the US Joint Chiefs, if you get my drift.

Is there a Hebrew translation for Mifgash?

Mark, what a diabolically clever code-name for a secret meeting. It means "encounter" and is used by nearly every Jewish group to describe special events, meetings etc.

It should be remembered that Cohen was arrested and briefly detained by Israeli authorities while undertaking a speaking tour of Israel in 2000. They were keen to find out how he had gained access to such sensitive information.

'Israel and the Bomb' is probably the most meticulously researched book I have ever read, given the secrecy surrounding the subject matter. As you know, Cohen was shocked when Piper cited several portions of the book when making a case for Israeli complicity in JFK's assassination. Cohen didn't realise what light his work shed on a dark and mysterious corner of modern history.

The result of a research and writing grant in 1989, Cohen's book contains some 100 interviews (some of the interviewees asked not to be named) and sources a wide variety of archives, Government documents, personal collections, English and foreign language newspapers, unpublished materials, minutes of Cabinet meetings, journal articles, essays and books. It also boasts an extensive glossary of individuals, and English and foreign language acronyms.

In a nutshell, if you want the skinny on Israel's nuclear weapons program from 1956 to 1998, and how they managed to pull it off, this is your reference.

My favorite from the glossary of individuals is this one:

Teddy Kollek (1911- ) Hungarian born. Hagannah operative in the United States (1947-1952); Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office under David Ben-Gurion (1954-1963); mayor of Jerusalem (1965-1996).

[Greg Parker]

Finally, the other strange thing about Mifgash is why was there such haste on the part of all parties to get this 'dialogue' up and running? Rusk and the Americans already knew that JFK was going to give the thumbs down to Israel's request for surface-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of Israel's old Sherman tank fleet hardly required a 'security dialogue', imo. The US Military rarely needs its arm twisted to sell conventional weaponry to willing customers. Why did the US Secretary of State agree so quickly when he knew this dialogue was going to be a waste of time? JFK had already turned down Ben-Gurion's repeated requests for a formal defence pact between the two nations because he didn't want to damage relations with Arab nations in the region. His position on Dimona was plain. Why the sudden urgency from the US and Israeli military for a dialogue which had limited prospects of breaking new ground?

What the hell was Mifgash all about? We haven't been told but I suspect the worst.

Mark... forgive me if I missed something, but where have you explained the name of this thread's title?

I thought it was the name of a porno mag until I googled it...

[Mark Stapleton]

Finally, the other strange thing about Mifgash is why was there such haste on the part of all parties to get this 'dialogue' up and running? Rusk and the Americans already knew that JFK was going to give the thumbs down to Israel's request for surface-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of Israel's old Sherman tank fleet hardly required a 'security dialogue', imo. The US Military rarely needs its arm twisted to sell conventional weaponry to willing customers. Why did the US Secretary of State agree so quickly when he knew this dialogue was going to be a waste of time? JFK had already turned down Ben-Gurion's repeated requests for a formal defence pact between the two nations because he didn't want to damage relations with Arab nations in the region. His position on Dimona was plain. Why the sudden urgency from the US and Israeli military for a dialogue which had limited prospects of breaking new ground?

What the hell was Mifgash all about? We haven't been told but I suspect the worst.

Mark... forgive me if I missed something, but where have you explained the name of this thread's title?

Good question, Sid.

The meaning of Mifgash I don't know. It comes from Cohen's book page 172, paragragh 2:

Israel had a broader agenda for the November secret meeting (code named Mifgash) than the US was willing to discuss......

Cohen goes on to outline how Israel was seeking to enhance its deterrent capability, but I believe the meeting facilitated an even broader agenda, which ultimately did indeed allow Israel to enhance its deterrent capability, with the full support of the US Joint Chiefs, if you get my drift.

Is there a Hebrew translation for Mifgash?

Mark, what a diabolically clever code-name for a secret meeting. It means "encounter" and is used by nearly every Jewish group to describe special events, meetings etc.

Thanks Greg. If it's that common, why haven't I heard of it? Probably because I'm not Jewish, I guess.

What do you think of the suggestion that Mifgash was relevant to the assassination? I'm keen to hear counter arguments, especially from creditable researchers. I don't claim to know with any certainty, it's just my strong suspicion.

It should be remembered that Cohen was arrested and briefly detained by Israeli authorities while undertaking a speaking tour of Israel in 2000. They were keen to find out how he had gained access to such sensitive information.

'Israel and the Bomb' is probably the most meticulously researched book I have ever read, given the secrecy surrounding the subject matter. As you know, Cohen was shocked when Piper cited several portions of the book when making a case for Israeli complicity in JFK's assassination. Cohen didn't realise what light his work shed on a dark and mysterious corner of modern history.

The result of a research and writing grant in 1989, Cohen's book contains some 100 interviews (some of the interviewees asked not to be named) and sources a wide variety of archives, Government documents, personal collections, English and foreign language newspapers, unpublished materials, minutes of Cabinet meetings, journal articles, essays and books. It also boasts an extensive glossary of individuals, and English and foreign language acronyms.

In a nutshell, if you want the skinny on Israel's nuclear weapons program from 1956 to 1998, and how they managed to pull it off, this is your reference.

My favorite from the glossary of individuals is this one:

Teddy Kollek (1911- ) Hungarian born. Hagannah operative in the United States (1947-1952); Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office under David Ben-Gurion (1954-1963); mayor of Jerusalem (1965-1996).

[Paz Marverde]

Bumping this very interesting thread 

[Michael Clark]

On 4/11/2007 at 2:15 PM, Ron Ecker said:

Added question: Why did Rabin leave the entire second half of 1963 out of his autobiography? As if nothing of any consequence happened on either the Israeli or American side, or even in his personal life.

Reminds me of E. Howard Hunt leaving the entire year out of his autobiography Undercover. Again it was such an uneventful time. (Hunt made up for it in his last book, in which he fingered LBJ, in a plot which Hunt wanted nothing, I say nothing, to do with, because it involved that crazy Bill Harvey. But apparently they told Hunt all about it anyway. "Need to know" or compartmentalization is all a bunch of hooey.)

..."G. Gordon Liddy was in the FBI from 1957 until September 1962, and prior to resigning in September 1962 had been involved in COINTELPRO. In his autobiography, "Will," he leaps from 1962 to 1965 with hardly a nod to anything in between except Too Much Information about the rhythm method, birth control pills, the Catholic religion in relation to all of that, and his crisis of faith."

The above, from this thread....

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/9146-g-gordon-liddy-and-marathon-oil—1962-to-1963/