1. Introduction

Worldwide, some persons of Jewish extraction, and having widely varying nationalities, voluntarily facilitate intelligence operations of their ancestral homeland, the state of Israel. Called sayanim, a Hebrew term derived from the root samech-yud-ayin, meaning ‘helpers’ or ‘assistants’. These individuals provide Mossad field officers with logistical support for a range of activities. They are a force multiplier for Mossad katsas (case officers). Their comparatively small service against an array of targets against which Israel seeks to collect intelligence. This includes aid in the counterterrorism arena. With sayanim sometimes even providing actionable intelligence regarding terrorist plans against Israeli targets around the globe. 

Operational sensitivities and the personal security implications of antisemitic sentiments globally greatly limit open-source reporting on the matter of sayanim. Grey Dynamics’ efforts to secure independent and expert input were greeted unenthusiastically by academics and institutions focused on Israeli intelligence history. For this article, research is limited to the thin journalistic accounts that can be found in publicly available sources.

2. The Rise of the Sayanim

2.1 Operating Without Cover: Mossad’s HUMINT Challenge

British historian Nigel West notes that Mossad’s history of running worldwide intelligence operations under diplomatic cover has not always extended into Arab countries. Many of which have not always allowed Israeli diplomatic representatives in the country, while providing permissive environments for terrorists targeting Israeli interests to seek safe haven or plan attacks. Coupled with an almost complete lack of volunteer Arab and Persian sources, the lack of diplomatic platforms in hostile countries required Mossad katsas to resort to alternative covers to effectively operate. These challenges hindered the productivity of Israeli HUMINT operations. While Israel’s recognition of the increased threat of terrorism in the late 1960s drove a need to expand operations abroad. A sayan must be 100 per cent Jewish and, in many cases, a dual national.

2.2 Meir Amit and the Formalisation of the Network

Meir Amit, Chief Director of Mossad from 1963 to 1968, formalised the concept of sayanim as an operational support mechanism. He brought a strategic and systematic approach to Israeli intelligence. Amit recognised that Mossad’s comparatively small number of field officers could not match the global reach of larger agencies such as the CIA or MI6. The Sayanim network was his solution. Extending Mossad’s operational footprint worldwide without the cost or exposure of deploying additional official personnel. [source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source]

Photo of Meir Amit in 1957, source

2.3 The Many Faces of a Sayan: Roles and Functions

The sayanim perform a wide range of supporting roles, depending on their profession and circumstance. Gordon Thomas, in his book Gideon’s Spies: Mossad’s Secret Warriors (St. Martin’s Press, 1999), documents examples including:

•        Car sayan: Helps rent or otherwise provide a car without paperwork that can be linked to an operation

•        Letting sayan: An estate agent who arranges access to private property

•        Medical sayan: Provides basic medical assistance, depending on speciality

Sayanim’s wide range of potential support roles is its key advantage, allowing operations to proceed more smoothly and discreetly, often without the need for Mossad staff on the ground. Their diversity of professions allows Mossad to quickly assemble a local support infrastructure in almost any country with a Jewish community. They reportedly provide their services for free and, according to some sources, they exist in every country. 

Actual numbers of active sayanim around the world are difficult to verify. According to Gordon Thomas, in 1998, there were 4,000 sayanim in Britain and some 16,000 in the United States.* Moroccan-French Jewish writer Jacob Cohen in 2022 claimed that tens of thousands operate at the highest levels of society across the world, including 5,000 in business in New York City, 5,000 in entertainment in Los Angeles, and 1,000 each in London and Paris. These claims are unsubstantiated. [source, source]

* For more on Israeli intelligence operations against the United States, see Grey Dynamics article Israeli Intel Ops Against its Patron, the U.S., dated 20 March 2026.

3.0 Case Studies

3.1 Operation Finale: The Sayanim’s Role

Examples of real-life sayanim include Lothar Hermann, a Jewish Holocaust survivor living in Argentina, whose tip to Mossad, and whose daughter’s relationship with Eichmann’s son, proved critical to the 1960 capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires. When Mossad officer Zvi Aharoni arrived in Argentina for the operation, speaking no Spanish and with no local resources, he turned to the Sayanim network for safe houses, cash, license plates and whatever additional support the mission required.

3.2 The Sayan Who Saved a Prime Minister 

In 1973, a sayan working in Rome’s central telephone exchange overheard a suspicious phone conversation. After the sayan alerted Mossad katsas to an assassination attempt against then-Prime Minister Golda Meir. The assassins planned to launch rockets at Meir’s plane as she landed in Rome for her meeting with Pope John Paul II. Preparations for the attack were discovered only moments before Meir’s plane touched down, and Mossad katsas were able to successfully disarm the assassin. Without the sayanim, Mossad is unlikely to have detected the attack in time to thwart it.  

Photo of the Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir standing with President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, outside the White House, 1973. source

3.3 Operation Wrath of God: The Sayanim’s Role

Furthermore, according to international press and academic reporting, sayanim played a key role in supporting Mossad with local logistics and intelligence during Operation Wrath of God. This operation saw the assassination of 35 members of Black September. Black September abducted and killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. [source, source, source] 

3.4 The UK’s Most Famous Sayan?

Robert Maxwell, a Czechoslovak-born British-French media proprietor and politician of Jewish descent, is referred to by Gordon Thomas as the UK’s most famous sayan. Though never acknowledged as having such a role by Israel, Maxwell was buried in Jerusalem. His funeral was attended by six serving and former heads of Israeli intelligence, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, and Israeli President Chaim Herzog. The connection of Maxwell’s daughter, Ghislaine, to Jeffrey Epstein is one factor contributing to rumours of a link between Epstein and the Mossad. [source, source, source] 

Photo of Robert Maxwell, 1989.  source

4.0 Conclusion

Sayanim are a unique implement in the Mossad’s tradecraft toolbox. With reporting of their existence dating back to 1960. They provide a unique, flexible operational logistics infrastructure to Israeli intelligence operations worldwide. Particularly in areas where Israel has a limited permanent, especially diplomatic, presence. A dearth of publicly available information on this aspect of Mossad operations leaves much room for future investigative journalism and intelligence studies research.