Suppressing the Truth about Eichmann's Abduction: the Banning of Isser Harel's The House on Garibaldi Street

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2007

ISSN

15655261

Publisher

Historical Society of Israel

Language

heb

Abstract

A Adolph Eichmann was abducted in Argentina on May 11, 1960. The Israeli government announced that the abduction was carried out by a group of unknown volunteers. The government later banned Issar Harel, the head of the Mossad, from publishing his book, The House on Garibaldi Street, in which he described the Mossad's involvement in carrying out the abduction. Harel appealed to the High Court of Justice, which decided to uphold the government's decision to prevent the publication. The book was allowed to be published in 1974. The ruling Issar Harel v. The Israeli government was allowed to be published in 2005. This article analyzes the steps that led to the ruling and presents questions such as: when is a government allowed to lie, how should a court deal with a lie, what is the connection between Protecting the security of the state and the rule of law, and how history is written and rewritten.

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