Yossef Harmelin

Yosef Harmelin (Hebrew יוסף הרמלין; * 1922 in Vienna, † 1994) was an Israeli diplomat.

Life

Yosef Harmelin emigrated in 1939 to Palestine, and enlisted in the British Army, which put him in the Second World War. In May 1946 he became a member of the Shin Bet. 1964 named him Levi Eshkol to its director. Harmelin suggested to end martial law for Arab Israelis, which was done in 1966. After the kidnapping of Munich there were layoffs at the Shin Bet. Harmelin demanded the withdrawal of the dismissal and threatened to resign. He asked Avraham Shalom for a head of the department protection. In 1975 he left the secret service.

Harmelin joined the Foreign Service in 1978 and was from 1978 to 1979, the last Israeli ambassador in Tehran. From 1979 to 1981 he was ambassador to Pretoria at Pieter Willem Botha.

On April 12, 1984 four members of the PLO hijacked the bus line 300 from Tel Aviv to Ashkelon with 41 passengers towards Gaza. In Dier- el- Balah, about 15 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, the bus by the IDF and border troops was stopped. At dawn, the bus was stormed under the command of Yitzhak Mordechai, a passenger and two hijackers were killed. Two other hijackers surrendered unharmed the security authorities and were photographed leaving the bus of journalists. The abductees were beaten in the straight, then the Military Censor prohibited the publication of the photos. Subsequently, the abductees were driven away in a Karavan the Shin Bet.

The Israeli newspaper Hadashot reported the incident. Before examining Commission alleged representative of the Shin Bet, the POWs had been killed under the command of General Yitzhak Mordechai. This presentation contradicted Yitzhak Mordechai. As a result, a commission to improve the Inverviewmethoden the Shin Bet has been established.

Harmelin headed the Shin Bet again from 1986 until 1988. Harmelin was known that he rejected any violence during questioning of detainees.