Mordechai Almog

Mordechai Almog was born in 1917 in Russian Empire

Mordechai Almog was born in 1917 in Proskurov in the Russian Empire, to Ruth and Hanoch Wurtzman. In 1919 the family fled pogroms to Balti in Bessarabia, where he studied Hebrew with a private teacher. The family moved to Tel Aviv in 1933.

He studied at the Herzliya Gymnasium and joined the Haganah, taking a signals course in 1935. He then trained as a radio operator in the British police and served in Safed. He was charged with killing an Arab man, was acquitted, and resigned from the police.

He set up the listening unit of the Shai, which monitored British police communications in Tel Aviv. During the War of Independence the unit became part of the IDF as Shin Mem 2, the basis of Unit 8200. In 1952 he arranged a camp in Ramat HaSharon that later became the Glilot base.

He later headed a collection branch in Aman and then joined the Mossad, where he became head of the Tzomet division in 1957. After leaving, he joined the travel firm Ophir Tours and later owned it. He chaired the Israel travel agents association.

In 1999 he received the rank of colonel for his role in building Unit 8200. He was married to Hannah, and they had 2 daughters. He died in 2005 and was buried in Kiryat Shaul cemetery.