Jerusalem - Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan was laid to rest at Rosh Pina on Sunday afternoon, after passing away on Thursday.
Current and past leaders arrived at the funeral, and paid tribute to the ex IDF General and intelligence chief’s many achievements on behalf of Israel’s security.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu eulogized Dagan, saying he symbolized an important Zionist achievement, which he defined as “the ability to hold the defending sword [and] to stand firm against our enemies in the battle for the existence of the nation.”
The murder of Dagan’s grandfather by the Nazis in the Holocaust was always in Dagan’s mind, Netanyahu said. “At the ultimate moment, no one came to save the Jews. Meir Dagan remembered that, and we must always remember that. When the test comes, we must be able to defend ourselves, by ourselves, and not to rely on the mercy of others.”
Dagan worked tirelessly to ensure that Israel does not face existential danger, Netanyahu said, adding that he “fought with bravery on the battlefield, and proved his daring in the fight against terrorism.”
Director of Israeli Mossad Yossi Cohen pays his respects over the fresh grave of Former Director of Israeli Mossad (The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) Meir Dagan during Dagan funeral at the cemetery in Rosh Pina, Northern Israel , on March 20, 2016. Dagan died last Thursday at the age of 71. Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO
Dagan saw Islamic zealotry as a tangible threat that required Israel to strengthen its deterrence, intelligence, and ability to thwart threats, the premier said, including in “hidden ways, in breakthrough techniques, and in ways that surpass the imagination.”
Netanyahu recalled sitting with Dagan in his office, or in Dagan’s office, and hearing proposals for operations, “usually with veteran and young people, men and women, and when he was done presenting, sometimes the room would fall silent, and I remember instances in which I would burst out laughing, because the idea was so bold and so audacious - Israeli hutzpa. Meir’s hutzpa. I say this in the presence of the anonymous fighters who are here today, because one thing is clear. For Israeli citizens to sleep well at night, there are some here among us, a few but important ones, who do not close their eyes.”
President Reuven Rivlin recalled how Dagan always looked at the photograph of his grandfather, Rabbi Be’er Sloshni, with his hands raised while on his knees, at the Lukow ghetto in Poland, wrapped in a prayer shawl, seconds before he was executed by Nazi soldiers.
“‘This is what guides me,’ you told me. ‘This is what guides me to act on behalf of the state of Israel and on behalf of the Jewish people… I look at at that photo and promise that such a thing will never reoccur, and I hope and believe I did all that I could to keep that promise.’ Meir, you did it. And how. You went above and beyond, with love, dedication, and endless commitment. All of your acts were tied to the Israeli people and its fate.”
Former Presient Shimon Peres said at the funeral that Dagan never asked what he should get in return for his service to the state. “You were, after all, born to give, Meir,” Peres said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) lay a wreath of flowers on the fresh grave of Former Director of Israeli Mossad (The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) Meir Dagan during his funeral at the cemetery in Rosh Pina, Northern Israel , on March 20, 2016. Dagan died last Thursday at the age of 71. Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO
“Meir never surrendered. Not to a drawn sword, not to a painful truth, and not during his campaign for peace. He was a born leader. There’s a good reason fighters went after him into the battlefield, in overt and covert places. The people trusted him and placed in his hands the fate of the battle, and the power of a vision. Under his command, which was composed of a mix of wisdom, bravery, creativity, and a grain of winning audaciousness, the Mossad became the best organization in the world.”
Newly appointed Mossad chief, Yossi Cohen, said that “with Meir Dagan’s passing, the Israeli people has lost one of its greatest warriors. Those are big words, and they should be used carefully and with restraint. But in Meir’ case - yes, that’s how we called the head of the Mossad, we simply called him Meir, or Dagan - well in Meir’s case, this description is accurate and true.”
“Meir taught us, the people of the Mossad, to combine daring with cunning, bravery with ruses, to take big chances, and to act at the same time with responsibility and sound judgment. He taught us one important thing in particular: To act with optimism, and with self-confidence, while stubbornly sticking to the target, with a focus and a level of energy that will allow us to succeed, and especially, to work as one man, as one organization, in what he called and endowed to us all, integration.” Cohen said.
Dagan used the same dedication to care for personal problems among Mossad personnel, Cohen said. He also distanced himself from control rooms at times to give senior and low-ranking members the space to act on their own, after he made himself very clear on what he wanted to achieve.
“But at the same time, he knew when to get involved, when to be present, when to put a hand on someone’s shoulder, to always listen, listen well, to the opinions and ideas of others, even the most young, and sometimes, mainly to them,” Cohen said.
Soldiers carry the coffin of Former Director of Israeli Mossad (The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations) Meir Dagan at the cemetery in Rosh Pina, Northern Israel, on March 20, 2016. Dagan died last Thursday at the age of 71. Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO
