Sayanim (Hebrew: helpers, assistants) is a term that former Mossad katsa and author Victor Ostrovsky and Thomas Gordon use to describe a network of Jews living outside Israel who volunteer to provide assistance to the Mossad
According Ostrovsky and author Thomas Gordon, the sayanim provide assistance of various kinds to Mossad officers operating in foreign countries. This assistance can include facilitating medical care, money, logistics, and even overt intelligence gathering. They can be Judges, Court Clerks, Expert Witnesses, Child Protective Service Workers, Assistant District Attorneys, Police Officers, or anyone with a great degree of power over people's lives, and will do anything at the behest of Mossad case officers (Katsa) for the State of Israel against its enemies or those perceived to be unfavorable politically to Israeli policy. (By Way of Deception, Victor Ostrovsky). Sayanim are supposedly not directly involved in intelligence operations, and are only paid for their expenses.
Sayanim must be 100% Jewish. They live abroad, and though they are not Israeli citizens, many are reached through their relatives in Israel.
Katsas are in charge of the sayanim, and most active sayanim will be visited by a katsa once every three months or so, which for the katsa usually means between two and four face-to-face meetings a day with sayanim, along with numerous telephone conversations. The system allows the Mossad to work with a skeleton staff. That's why, for example, a CIA station would employ about 100 people, while a comparable Mossad station would need only six or seven.
The existence of this large body of volunteers allows the costs of intelligence gathering to be greatly reduced, and may be one reason why the Mossad operates with fewer case officers than fellow intelligence agencies.
Ostrovsky's claims have not been verified independently.
Sayanim in fiction
- Sayanim feature prominently in Frederick Forsyth's novel The Fist of God, depicting Mossad operations in Iraq and other countries.
References
Further reading
- Ostrovsky, Victor. By Way of Deception-The making and unmaking of a Mossad Officer. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990. ISBN 0-9717595-0-2
- Thomas Gordon. Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. ISBN 0-312-25284-6
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