“The Lillehammer Curse” Film Sheds Light on Mossad’s Resounding Failure
In a newly released film titled “The Lillehammer Curse,” the most catastrophic failure in the history of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, is explored in depth. The film challenges the commonly known narrative of a simple case of mistaken identity and instead delves into a much deeper and disturbing failure on the part of the Mossad.
The story begins in September 1972, following the terrorist attack carried out by the Black September organization at the Munich Olympics, where 11 Israeli athletes were murdered. In response, Prime Minister Golda Meir ordered the elimination of the top leaders of the organization in Europe. Thus, Operation “Wrath of God” was launched.
At first, the operation seemed successful as 16 senior members of the PLO were systematically eliminated. However, the commander of Black September, Ali Hassan Salama, also known as “The Red Prince,” remained on the elimination list. It was then that the Mossad received critical information indicating that Salama had traveled to Oslo, Norway.
Here is where the first failure occurred. The information that the Mossad received was not solid evidence; it was merely hearsay from a Circassian psychiatrist working for the agency. Despite the lack of concrete proof, the Mossad quickly assembled a team to track down Salama in Oslo.
The team made several crucial mistakes in the course of their operation. They misidentified a Moroccan waiter named Ahmed Boushiki as Salama and proceeded to assassinate him on the streets of Lillehammer. The botched operation caused a chain reaction of errors, including leaving crucial evidence behind and failing to cover their tracks effectively.
The film interviews several people involved in the case, including investigators, agents, and journalists, who reveal the extent of the Mossad’s amateurish and pedantic approach to the operation. In the film, Moshe Elad, an orientalist who investigated the Lillehammer case, expresses his disbelief at the Mossad’s incompetence, saying, “The two main investigators did not believe that this was a Mossad story. ‘It can’t be,’ he says, the Mossad?”
Gidi Maron, the journalist who created the film, emphasizes that the failure of Lillehammer was not an isolated incident but a reflection of a larger problem within Israeli intelligence. He asserts that Israeli arrogance, a lack of accountability, and a failure to accept responsibility for past mistakes ultimately led to the disastrous outcome in Lillehammer.
While the film sheds light on the failures and flaws within the Mossad, it also raises questions about the agency’s current state. The film’s director, Emmanuel Nakash, highlights the need for improved cooperation and a division of powers within the Mossad to prevent such catastrophes from occurring in the future.
In the aftermath of the Lillehammer affair, six Mossad agents were arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to prison. The failure of Operation “Wrath of God” and the Lillehammer operation remains a stain on the legacy of the Mossad, reminding the world that even intelligence agencies can make grave mistakes with far-reaching consequences.