Old Aman logo
The
Directorate of Military Intelligence (,
Agaf HaModiin - lit. "the Intelligence Section", often abbreviated to
Aman) is
Israel's central, overarching
military intelligence, in the
Israel Defense Forces. Aman was created in 1950, when the Intelligence Department was spun off from the IDF's
General Staff (then, Agam: אג"ם); the Intelligence Department itself was composed largely of former members of the
Haganah Intelligence Service (HIS). Aman is an independent service, and not part of the
ground forces,
navy or the
Israeli Air Force. It has a staff of 7,000 personnel (1996 estimate). It is currently headed by
Major General (in
Hebrew:
Aluf)
Amos Yadlin.
Head of Aman
The head of Aman is the highest intelligence officer in the IDF and engages in intelligence decision and policy-making at the same level as the heads of the
Shabak and the
Mossad: together, they form the three highest-ranking, co-equal heads of the
Israeli Intelligence Community, focusing on the
military,
domestic (including the
Palestinian territories), and
foreign intelligence fronts respectively.
On
June 10 2005, then-IDF's Chief of Staff,
Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, in a move viewed as surprising, announced that Major General
Aharon Zeevi-Farkash would be replaced by Major General
Amos Yadlin. Yadlin, who had been serving as the IDF's
military attaché in
Washington, D.C., was a combat pilot, former head of the
air force's Air Intelligence Directorate, and Halutz's deputy. Yadlin was appointed as Aman Director on
January 5 2006, with Zeevi-Farkash having served an extended term.
Units
Aman consists of the following subordinate and professionally subordinate units:
Staff units
Collection units
Research
Information security
- Military Censor [Part of Aman, but an entirely independent unit, not subordinate to any military or political level, only to parliamentary and judicial oversight]
Other units
Professionally subordinate units
Roles and jurisdiction
right|thumb|250px|Intelligence Corps badge.The IDF's
Intelligence Corps (חיל המודיעין), abbreviated as Haman and headed by a
Brigadier General, has been detached from Aman since the
Yom Kippur War, but remains under its jurisdiction.
In
April 2000, the newest IDF corps was founded (the IDF's fifth land corps), the
Field Intelligence Corps (חיל מודיעין השדה), abbreviated as Modash (מוד"ש). It was designed to fulfill some of Aman's former combat intelligence functions, and is also headed by a Brigadier General. Unlike Haman, however, Modash falls under the operational jurisdiction of the GOC Army Headquarters, abbreviated as Mazi (מז"י), and currently headed by Major General
Yiftach Ron-Tal (as of
June 10 2005, outgoing: to be replaced by Major General
Benny Gantz, outgoing head of GOC Northern Command). It still falls under Aman's professional jurisdiction however.
In 1976, according to the
Lexicon of National Security, some of Aman's principal roles consisted of:
- Intelligence evaluation for security policy, military planning and 'fluid security policy,' and the dissemination of intelligence to IDF and governmental bodies.
- Field security at the level of the General Staff (today, Matkal: מטכ"ל), and the training and operation of field security in general (all levels).
- The operation of military censorship.
- Direction and operation of the 'Collection Agencies'.
- Drawing maps; providing the direction and supervision for the dissemination of maps.
- The development of 'special measures' for intelligence work.
- The development of intelligence doctrine in the realms of research, collection, and field security.
- Staff responsibility for military attachés overseas.
Aman Directors (1948-1950, Intelligence Department)
See also
