“Israel’s Lavon Affair Resurfaces as Unseemly Details Emerge 50 Years Later”
“Unearthing the Shadows of Lavon: Israeli Public Still Divided Over Infamous Covert Operation”
The Lavon Affair, also known as Operation Susannah, was a failed Israeli covert operation conducted in Egypt in the summer of 1954. As part of a false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to plant bombs inside Egyptian-, American-, and British-owned civilian targets, such as cinemas, libraries, and American educational centers1. The operation caused no casualties among the population but led to the deaths of four operatives: two cell members who committed suicide after being captured; and two operatives who were tried, convicted, and executed by the Egyptian authorities1. The operation ultimately became known as the Lavon Affair after the Israeli defense minister Pinhas Lavon, who was forced to resign as a consequence of the incident1. Before Lavon’s resignation, the incident had been euphemistically referred to in Israel as the “Unfortunate Affair” or “The Bad Business” (Hebrew: העסק הביש, HaEsek HaBish)
