Background
Meir Amit was born on March 17, 1921, in Tiberias, HaZafon, Israel. He was the son of Shimon Slutskiy and Chaya Slutskiy.
Columbia University
Koor Industries Ltd (logo)
Mossad (logo)
Spacecom (logo)
Meir Amit was born on March 17, 1921, in Tiberias, HaZafon, Israel. He was the son of Shimon Slutskiy and Chaya Slutskiy.
Meir Amit attended Primary School in the Borochov neighborhood and Regional School at Givat HaShlosha. Received degree in agriculture, Israel in 1936 and Bachelor of Science in Balfor Gymnasium in 1939. Received Master of Arts degree in Business Administration in Columbia University in 1961.
At a young age, Meir Amit enlisted in the Haganah. He fought for the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Meir Amit remained in the military and rose through the ranks to become a major general. During his military career, he came to be regarded as a protégé of Moshe Dayan.
Later Meir Amit entered the Israeli intelligence community, first as a major general at the head of IDF Intelligence in 1961, and then as Mossad Director in 1963. He was the only figure in Israel's history to hold the position of Mossad chief and head of military intelligence at the same time.
Meir Amit also built strong personal relationships within the CIA and was a very close ally of the Americans, he was deployed on several special projects with the CIA across the globe and brought many people to justice with his creative techniques of espionage.
Following his retirement from the Mossad, Meir Amit continued to be an active voice in the intelligence community and did work for the Israeli government. Following the lead of other former generals, Meir Amit joined the Democratic Movement for Change party and was elected to the Knesset in the 1977 elections. He was appointed Minister of Transportation and Minister of Communications in Menachem Begin's government, but resigned from both posts on 15 September 1978 after the Democratic Movement for Change broke up. Meir Amit subsequently joined Shinui, before defecting to the Alignment (The Israeli labor party) in 1980.
Meir Amit was later the chairman of Israel's Center for Special Studies, and in 2003, was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State.
At a young age, Meir Amit joined Kibbutz Alonim in the lower Galilee.
Quotes from others about the person
Upon news of Meir Amit's death in July 2009, Israeli President Shimon Peres stated: "Entire Generations owe Meir Amit Slutsky a debt of gratitude for his immense contribution to Mossad and the defense community, a large part which remains secret now in building the strength and deterrence of Israel. He was a natural leader, whom people trusted, and at the same time, he was a visionary for the state. We are proud to have a personality of his stature born in our country."
Married Yona Kelman, June 12, 1942. Children: Nitza, Anat, Eilat.