Michael Ross (Mossad officer)

Ross was born and raised as an Anglican in Canada. He grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. Following high school, he joined the Canadian Forces, and served in the since-disbanded Canadian Airborne Regiment of the Special Service Force at CFB Petawawa. After he was discharged, he toured Europe. In 1982, he arrived in Israel, planning to volunteer on a kibbutz before returning to Canada. After living in Israel for a while and becoming romantically involved with a member of the kibbutz named Dahlia, Ross decided stay and convert to Judaism. Ross subsequently settled on a kibbutz, completed his Judaism studies and successfully converted, and married Dahlia. Ross was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces and assigned to the Combat Engineering Corps. He served in the West Bank, where his unit conducted patrols and searches for wanted terrorists and terror cells. In 1985, he was transferred to a demolitions platoon of the Golani Brigade and deployed to the Israeli security zone in southern Lebanon. His unit was tasked with keeping the roads free of ambushes and IEDs. His only combat experience was when he participated in an ambush on two Hezbollah vehicles, during which eight militants were killed.[1]

After the end of his military service, Ross returned to his kibbutz, and during this time, the Mossad interviewed him. He took a leave of absence from the kibbutz to return to Canada with his wife, and worked in a federal government job in Vancouver for two years before returning to Israel, where he reestablished contact with the Mossad via a telephone number through a card he had been given before leaving. After repeated interviews, a medical examination and a polygraph test, he was put through an intense training program, and in 1989, he was accepted into the Mossad. As part of his preparation for service in the Mossad, Ross attended the London School of Economics. He served under a form of non-official cover, which involves working under covers other than as an Israeli diplomat and therefore lacks diplomatic immunity, a status which the Mossad refers to as "combatant". Ross's background and language skills gave him excellent access to sources of intelligence and the ability to travel without suspicion of being an Israeli officer. Ross's work was primarily as an undercover agent in various foreign countries. For many years was the Mossad's man in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although primarily a field operative, he also worked at Mossad headquarters for two and a half years in an official liaison position with the American Central Intelligence Agency and FBI Counterterrorism Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2000, Ross was awarded a divisional citation by former Mossad Deputy Director and Head of the National Security Council, Ilan Mizrahi. Ross left the Mossad under honorable circumstances in late 2001 with the equivalent military rank of Sgan Aluf (Lieutenant-Colonel).[1][2] He subsequently divorced and returned to Canada.

Ross's work with the Mossad was spent almost entirely in counter-terrorism.[3] According to his book, he played an integral part in the investigation and subsequent joint operation with the FBI that resulted in the capture of Fawzi Mustapha Assi, a Hezbollah operative procuring weapons technology in the United States. Assi was procuring weapons material at the behest of senior Hezbollah leaders, Imad Mughniyeh and Hassan Hilu al-Lakkis. In addition to sub-Saharan Africa, he wrote that he served in the Mossad's CAESAREA division in Syria, Azerbaijan, North Africa, and Iran. At Mossad headquarters he was involved with the TEVEL division, responsible for liaison relationships with allied governments on counter-terrorism, specifically in prevention and investigation of attacks upon embassies. Ross played an integral role in the capture of the al-Qaeda confederates responsible for the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. He later served in the Mossad's BITZUR division, responsible for prevention of terrorist attacks upon Jewish communities worldwide. Ross assisted the escape of Jews from Zimbabwe threatened by the Robert Mugabe regime. Ross is credited with bolstering intelligence ties between Israel and Azerbaijan[4] and the interception of two Iranian agents attempting to procure weaponry in South Africa.[1]

Ross' book has received criticism. Haaretz journalist Yossi Melman claimed that Ross magnified and glorified his adventures and claimed to have participated in operations which it is doubtful he was involved in, however, this has been disputed by CIA, Mossad, and foreign news sources. Melman wrote that sources who knew him within the Mossad told Haaretz that Ross was never in Iran, and that he was stationed only in "base countries", or countries with which Israel has relations with, and not "target countries" (Arab countries and Iran). Melman claimed that his former colleagues also said that he remained in a junior position throughout his 13 years of service, and resigned due to bitterness about not being promoted and under a cloud due to discipline problems. This has been disputed by foreign news outlets as Israeli media are often co-opted by official government sources. Melman later appeared to contradict himself where he wrote that Ross, according to foreign news outlets,[5] played a pivotal role in the capture of the perpetrators of the Africa embassy bombings in Baku, Azerbaijan.[6] In an interview, former Mossad operative Mishka Ben-David claimed to have known Ross, but said that his book is "not credible" and not a worthwhile source from which to learn of the Mossad's work.[7] On the other hand, Ben-David has been heavily criticized in Israel for exaggerating his exploits within the Mossad. Publishers Weekly described Ross' discussions of intelligence operations as realistic and not movie-like.[8]

Ross wrote The Volunteer in 2007. The tone of the book is pro-Israeli; Ross sees Israel as an example of civilization's defense against terrorism. He does not appear to draw distinctions between the aims of Islamist Palestinian nationalism and al-Qaeda's stated goal to drive Americans and western influence out of all Muslim nations. Ross often cites examples where Iran covertly supports and sponsors Sunni terrorist movements such as al-Qaeda, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas as well as the Taliban.

Ross is a friend of Ishmael Jones, a former deep-cover CIA officer and author of The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture,[9] with whom he collaborates. There is speculation that Ross and Jones operated against similar intelligence targets while working for their respective clandestine services.

• Non-official cover

• Mossad (English)
• Interview with Michael Ross