Three Heroic Women of the Mossad

They weren’t soldiers. They weren’t armed with tanks, planes, or missiles. They were three Jewish women armed only with wit, courage, and disguises, who quietly altered the course of Middle Eastern history.

In an age when nuclear war in the region seemed inevitable, these Mossad heroines pulled off one of the most daring covert operations ever attempted. Their weapons? A suitcase, a dinner reservation, and a stolen glance of trust.

Their mission? To uncover the truth Syria fought to keep hidden from the world.

As told in the book The Mossad Amazons, this all-female team risked their lives to save ours. This is their story.

Nina

On March 7, 2007, Ibrahim Othman came out of the elevator onto the fourth floor of a luxury hotel. He was about to use his key card to enter his room when he saw something that caught his eye—a woman, Nina, sitting outside her hotel room on the floor, crying.

“Is everything okay, ma’am?” he asked in perfect English.

She was hunched over her suitcase. When she looked up at him, red in the face, she wiped away her tears and said, “I just can’t get it to open.” With both hands, she tried again—unsuccessfully—to open the clasps of the silver suitcase, then banged her fists against it.

Othman suggested she try the reception.

“They’re useless!” she said, exasperated. “Everything is inside! My ID, my papers—everything. I don’t know what to do!”

He bent down and said, “I can try to help you.” He tried opening the clasps, but had no luck.

“Nothing that can be done,” she cried.

He offered to call downstairs.

“It just won’t help.” Then her face lit up with an idea. “Someone once told me that perhaps if you have a different key or a penknife that might help.”

Othman suggested using his room key.

The woman declined, but then said, “Well… I guess we could try.” He handed it to her, and she turned her back to him, crouching over the suitcase so he couldn’t see her copying his key into an apparatus hidden in the palm of her hand.

Then she used his key to delicately open her suitcase.

“It worked!” she announced, shocked.

“Yes, it worked,” he repeated after her.

She handed him back his key and thanked him once again for his kindness.

He walked into his room, unaware that Nina and her group of Mossad agents would soon replicate the card and break into his hotel room.

#He walked into his room, unaware that Nina and her group of Mossad agents would soon replicate the card and break into his hotel room.

This break-in was a key step in the mission—because Ibrahim Othman was the head of the Nuclear Energy Commission of the Syrian government.

The IDF had been trailing this man for years, to no avail. With no proof that Syria was producing nuclear weapons, they nearly abandoned the mission.

But this was just step one in a three-part, all-female mission.

Marylin

The next morning, Othman came down to the hotel lobby to enjoy breakfast. The restaurant was completely packed—with Mossad agents—who had left only one seat open. It was next to a young woman who was on the phone.

“May I?” Othman asked, pulling the chair back.

She nodded yes while continuing to talk.

She sounded angry during the conversation and, after raising her voice a few times, she hung up the phone and slammed it on the table.

She looked at Othman and began grumbling about her boyfriend, who had flaked on her—again.

She explained that they were supposed to celebrate an anniversary, and she had flown to Vienna to enjoy an evening with him. He was supposed to arrive that day, but had canceled.

“I can’t believe he canceled again!” she said, exasperated.

Othman nodded politely and said, “He has no idea what he’s missing.”

“What’s your name?” she asked him. He told her—but certainly didn’t mention his role in nuclear energy.

She introduced herself as Marylin, and they began light conversation.

Then Marylin circled back to her boyfriend.

“I tried so hard to make this evening special. I even secured seats at Silvio Nickol. It's the best restaurant in all of Vienna!”

“Yes, I know,” he agreed.

Suddenly Marylin had an idea. “Do you have plans tonight?” she asked him.

He was surprised, but she continued. “I really don’t want to cancel my reservation. Maybe… would you join me?”

Othman found his mouth forming the word, “Sure.” Then asked, “But what if your boyfriend comes?”

“Oh, he won’t—and he doesn’t deserve me anyway…”

Later that night, they met up in the hotel lobby and walked out together, hailing a cab.

As they left for the restaurant, a team of Mossad warriors—men and women—took their positions.

Two females and a male sat in chairs near the elevator. If he changed his mind or returned early, they’d be there to stall him. Another male sat in a parked car with headphones outside the hotel.

Other team members were at the restaurant, ready to give the code word once the two had arrived. Of course, the other tables at the restaurant were filled with agents ready to protect Marylin if anything went wrong.

All was set for Stage 3.

Kira

Eyal and Kira were sent to Othman’s hotel room on the fourth floor.

They began to search the room. They immediately found personal documents and his cell phone. While the cellphone was protected with a password, Kira hacked it within seconds and began searching for pertinent information.

There were messages and documents—but right there, in front of her face, were pictures of a huge building and a nuclear reactor in the advanced stages of construction. Different men were photographed. The phone had approximately 35 pertinent photos.

Kira copied the photos from the cell phone, and all paper documents were placed back exactly where they had been found.

On cue, Marylin and Othman arrived back at the hotel lobby. Marylin thanked him for dinner and the two parted ways.

Mission complete.

Immediately, the evidence was brought to the IDF Chief of Staff. They placed it in front of him in a brown envelope and stated, “This is a plutogenic reactor. There are no more question marks.”

These three heroic women gave Israel and the US the information they needed to find the Syrian reactor and destroy it.

But there was one more part to the mission.

General Muhamed Soleiman was the head of the Syrian nuclear project. He was planning to begin work on a new nuclear facility after the destruction of the last one. But before doing so, he took a few days off at his beachfront property.

While sitting outside with comrades, overlooking the beach and eating a decadent dinner, they didn’t notice two shadows in the ocean—sharpshooters who had dived a long way from their boat. They emerged from the water and simultaneously aimed for Soleiman’s head.

Soleiman collapsed and the sharpshooters dove back into the ocean toward their boat.

The Syrian media officially reported that Soleiman had died of a heart attack.

The female agents of the Mossad risked everything for their country. Their lives are shrouded in mystery; their friends and relatives have no idea that they are secret agents.

They are part of a long line of Jewish women throughout history who have saved the Jewish People. From the Matriarchs and Miriam to Yocheved, from Queen Esther of Purim to Yehudit of Hanukkah, Jewish women have repeatedly risen to save the day.

With thanks to The Mossad Amazons—The Amazing Women of the Israeli Secret Service