Pre-ISA
Isser Harel was born in 1912 in White Russia as Isser Halperin. He immigrated to Israel in 1930 and joined a training group in Kibbutz “Shefayim”. He resided in the city of Herzliya from the year 1935, and was a member of the Haganah from nearly the day he set foot in Israel.
In the ISA
1944 - transferred to the Intelligence Service of the Haganah in Tel Aviv; served in the Division of Internal Affairs.
1946 - appointed commander of the Division of Internal Affairs
1947 - appointed commander of the Intelligence Service in the Tel Aviv area.
1948 – upon the establishment of the state of Israel and the dissolution of the Intelligence Service, appointed the commander of the state’s Internal Intelligence Service, known as “Mahatz” at the time. Several months later, this organization became the Israel Security Agency.
Post-retirement
1952 – appointed head of the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (the “Mossad”) by the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, David Ben-Gurion, and in addition, served as chairman of the Committee of Agency Directors.
Isser Harel passed away in 2003, at the age of 91.
