theage– It is often considered the most secretive and ruthless of all spy networks, emerging briefly from the shadows to confront Israel’s enemies before vanishing once more.
But a wave of nail-biting television spy thrillers, as well as last month’s high-profile assassination of an Iranian scientist, have placed Mossad firmly in the public eye.
Former spies in the service say it is always on the lookout for recruits as it adapts to new dangers the region, and that programs such as Apple TV’s Tehran and Netflix’s The Spy, are fuelling applications.
“When people see the James Bond movies or Tehran, they want to be a part of it,” Avner Avraham, a former agent of 28 years’ service, said. “You can travel, the government pays you, it’s fun, it’s sometimes dangerous and you are very proud to serve your country.”
Tehran in particular has parallels with events unfolding in the real world, as it features a young, female Mossad agent undercover in the Iranian capital.
On Nov 27, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian nuclear scientist, was gunned down near Tehran in an ambush that seemed to have been plucked straight from the script of the Israeli spy series.
Iran has repeatedly blamed Mossad for the killing, which allegedly involved a remote controlled machine gun. Israel has declined to comment. Mossad’s director, Yossi Cohen, recently embarked on a hiring spree, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and increased the agency’s budget by several billion shekels.
Cohen has spent more time in the public eye than is usual for Mossad chiefs, having played a key role in securing historic normalisation treaties between Israel and Arab states, including the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. According to The Washington Post, Mossad is increasingly in competition with Israel’s booming tech industry, which is picking up some of the country’s brightest minds after their national service.
But Avraham stressed that, unlike during his days, it no longer need be a lifetime career.
“You can come for a few years, and then walk away to develop special programs,” he said. “You can develop ideas [learned in the service] and make a lot of money.”
Mossad has launched a new website, which Avraham helped to design, featuring the dramatic tag-line: “Suddenly, I’m finding myself doing things that you maybe only see in the movies.”
Visitors are able to fill out a questionnaire to help recruiters decide whether they are cut out for the agency.
Avraham runs a network of former agents, Spy Legends Agency, which provides strategic advice on security issues. “It’s a one-of-a-kind spy speakers’
