14. The Uncircumcised Jew
Israel Beer’s swift rise highlighted the difficulty Israeli intelligence faced in spotting infiltrators during a period of mass immigration. Beer was not even a Jew. A cultured, urbane, and Hollywood handsome man, he cut a swath through Israeli society and Tel Aviv’s nightlife as a ladies’ man. It took a long time before anybody made something about the fact that he was uncircumcised. In the meantime, Beer took advantage of his access to Israeli secrets.
He not only photocopied pages from the Prime Minister’s diary, but tore out entire pages from it and passed them on to his handlers. It was not until 1961, when Beer was caught delivering a briefcase stuffed with sensitive materials to the KGB, that the deception fell apart. He never revealed his true identity during interrogations following his arrest. Tried and convicted of espionage, Beer was sentenced to jail, where he died in 1966, taking the secret of his identity to his grave.
