Rafi Eitan, the Israeli spy who captured Nazi fugitive Adolf Eichmann in 1960, died Saturday at his home in Tel Aviv. He was 92.
Rafael Eitan was born on a kibbutz in Mandatory Palestine. After studying at the London School of Economics, he joined Shin Bet, the Israeli equivalent of the FBI, then made the move to Mossad, becoming the intelligence agency's chief of operations.
Eitan led the seven-person operation to capture Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust, near his home in Buenos Aires. Eichmann was tried in Jerusalem and found guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was executed in 1962.
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Mossad Director Yossi Cohen said Eitan's "work and his actions will be etched in gold letters in the annals of the state. The foundations that Rafi laid in the first years of the state are a significant layer in the activities of the Mossad even today." Cohen said much of what Eitan did isn't even known to the public. Later in life, Eitan became head of the Pensioners Party, and in 2006, he helped his party capture seven seats in parliament.
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