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# Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations – Mossad (Israel)

## HaMosad LeModi'in U'LeTafkidim Meyuhadim,

Last modified: 2026-04-18 by martin karner
Keywords: mossad | institute for intelligence and special operations | hamosad lemodi'in uletafkidim meyuhadim |
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image located by William Garrison, 30 July 2024
(picture, source)

- Presentation
- Former Flag
- Emblem

See also:

- Israeli Security Agency (Shabak/Shin Bet)
- Israeli Military Agency (Aman)
- Israeli Intelligence Community (IIC)
- Flags of Governmental Authorities (Israel)
- Israel

## Presentation

The Mossad (lit. Institute) is the well-known name of the Israeli intelligence service. Its full name is HaMosad LeModi'in U'LeTafkidim Meyuhadim or Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations and it is the Israeli eqvivalent of the British MI6 or the American CIA, which in general sense means that it only operates outside the state boundaries.
Dov Gutterman, 31 October 2002

The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) is a state organization responsible for secret activities abroad – gathering information, thwarting threats of unconventional weapons and terrorism, conducting special operations, rescuing Jews abroad, and providing intelligence to the Prime Minister, the Government, and the defense establishment on security and foreign affairs issues. Its activities are intended to protect the security of the State of Israel and advance its national goals, which are determined by the Prime Minister and the government, subject to the laws and values of the State of Israel.
It was established on December 13, 1949 when then Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, David Ben-Gurion, signed a secret letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the instructions as follows (original in Hebrew):
"`According to my instructions, an institution was established to centralize and coordinate the activities of the Intelligence and Security Services of the State (English: Military Intelligence Department), the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (English: General Security Service), and more. I assign Reuven Shiloah, the Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to organize the institution and head it.` [...]"
Hence it was initially called the "Institute for the Concentration and Coordination of Intelligence Operations", also known as "Central Authority for the Concentration and Coordination of Intelligence and Security Services", also known as "Central Institution for the Centralization and Coordination of Intelligence and Security Services". "Mossad" first was nothing more than a coordinating headquarters body between the intelligence and security services of the State, without command powers or responsibility and authority for collecting intelligence abroad, while the day on which the Mossad began to function as an "institution" is February 8, 1951. This was done to replace the clandestine organizations that had operated in the previous years of Independence and was supposed to coordinate the activities of the other two bodies. This authority, known as "The Authority", formed the main part of what became Mossad and included representatives from the other two services at both the headquarters and field levels. Mossad was now detached from the Foreign Ministry and placed under the Prime Minister's office. In the following period, the Coordination Institution (a.k.a. Coordination Bureau) under Shiloah's leadership took on more and more responsibilities and roles, and on April 1, 1951, the Political Department's operations were transferred to a new body, "Mossad". Its headquarters are in Tel Aviv.

Esteban Rivera, 2 March 2026

## Former Flag

image by Dov Gutterman, 22 Juny 2007

Newspaper Yedioth Aharonot of 31 October 2002 published a photo showing the Israeli prime minister with the previous and the new heads of the Mossad. On the right corner of the photo, one can see part of the Mossad flag. The flag is white, charged with the Menorah from the state emblem in blue. There is an inscription in blue above the emblem which seems to be the Mossad motto (a phrase from the Bible). The bottom of the flag cannot be seen, but it possibly bears an inscription with the Mossad name.
Dov Gutterman, 31 October 2002

According to this Mossad webpage, their motto is Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).
Santiago Dotor, 8 February 2006

No, on the flag there is another phrase, from Proverbs 24:6. It can be translated as: "For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety."
Dov Gutterman, 8 February 2006

## Emblem

(source, source)

"Until the 1970s, the Mossad did not have a graphic symbol to represent it. Until then, the verse 'With cunning you shall wage war for yourself' taken from Proverbs 24:6 was unofficially associated with the Mossad. In the early 1970s, during Zvi Zamir's tenure as head of the Mossad, the employees of the Mossad were asked to participate in an internal tender and submit proposals for a graphic symbol for the Mossad, just as there are symbols representing the IDF forces and similar institutions around the world. The Mossad emblem as it is known today was not chosen in this competition, but was designed later by the late Shlomo Cohen Abarbanel, who was the deputy head of the Mossad, an operations officer and possessed artistic talent and a great love of painting. In the center of the symbol stands the seven-branched Temple Menorah, as it appears on the Arch of Titus in Rome. Around the menorah appears the verse 'Without counsel a people falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety' (Proverbs 11:14), attributed to King Solomon. It is fitting that these words will always chart the path for the Mossad for intelligence and special functions, as this is the secret of the organization's success – acting with wisdom and cunning." (source)
Sources:
https://www.mossad.gov.il/history
https://www.israeldefense.co.il/...
https://www.linkedin.com/company/mossad-careers
https://kotar.cet.ac.il/...
https://kotar.cet.ac.il/...
https://ru.wikipedia.org/...
https://he.wikipedia.org/...

Esteban Rivera, 2 March 2026