During Israel’s peace negotiations with Jordan, Shabtai Shavit was there, behind the scenes as the director of the Mossad. He was there after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. He was there as Israel navigated the winding down of the Cold War and dealt with terrorist threats, Iran and strengthening its bond with the United States.

Shavit will join us to provide an insider’s account of those critical junctures for Israel, of the operations he directed, his work with the CIA, the crucial role that intelligence has played in Israel’s history thus far — and the role it must play in the future against Islamist terrorism and Iran.

With over 50 years in the Israeli Defense Forces, its elite special forces (Sayeret Matkal) and Mossad, which he directed for seven years, Shabtai Shavit is an internationally recognized authority in the fields of security and counterterrorism. He is the author of Head of the Mossad: In Pursuit of a Safe and Secure Israel (2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist).

Moderated by Richard Salomon, Vice President of the Illinois Holocaust Museum‘s Board of Directors.