The Lavon Affair
In 1951, an Israeli intelligence officer arrived in Cairo and recruited a network of young Egyptian Jews to work for Israeli intelligence. The network remained dormant until 1954 the British announced plans to withdraw from Egypt. The British presence in Egypt was considered a restraining influence on the Egyptians. Attempting to undermine this strategy, Israeli intelligence hatched a plan to set off bombs in public places in Egypt.

The network was enlisted to plant bombs in various locations, including U.S. Information Centers, movie theaters, post offices, and other public venues. The initial explosion occurred on July 2, 1954, at a post office in Alexandria. The bombs were extremely small, resulting in no injuries. However, one of the bombs detonated prematurely in a saboteur’s pocket, leading to his capture. A subsequent raid led to the discovery from a list in his apartment naming other members of the spy ring, 11 of whom were arrested.

The espionage ring was put on trial. Prime Minister Sharett was initially outraged and decried the proceedings as slander against the Egyptian Jewish community. However, Sharett was subsequently briefed in confidence on the actual circumstances. The trial concluded on January 27th, resulting in two defendants, Moshe Marzouk and Shmuel Azar, being sentenced to death and later hanged.

The botched operation had significant political repercussions in Israel. Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon asserted he had no advance knowledge of the plan, while Colonel Binyamin Gibli, Chief of Intelligence, insisted he had briefed Lavon. Following Lavon’s claims, of being kept in the dark, a National Commission was established to investigate the matter. The commission ultimately reported that it could not determine who was telling the truth. When Sharett failed to support Lavon, Lavon resigned. Subsequently, Ben-Gurion returned to the position of Defense Minister.