Mossad or the "Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations" is the Israeli intelligence agency and one of the largest modern day institutions for espionage and other secret operations.
Mossad is known for its efficiency and nearly flawless operations. The agency was formed in December 1949 as a center for coordination and cooperation between the various secret services.
In March 1951 it was reorganized and turned into a federal system, with its current number of personnel being about 1200. They don't use their combat skills, even though most of them do have such, as service in the military is mandatory in Israel, even for women.
Nearly half of all of Mossad's spies are of the fairer sex, according to former director of the intelligence agency Tamir Pardo. He says that women do a much better job in spy operations and research.
Typically, agents join Mossad at around the age of 20 and are required to completely forgo their personal life. Some of the female agents have left behind sick children and family while going on a mission.
In an interview published not too long ago, 5 female agents admitted that the operations they took part in were several times more intense than what you see in action movies. Confrontations with the enemy last for months and the risk to their life never goes away.
"If I'm in an enemy country and they catch me, my life is over. But this isn't much different than being caught in an allied country and spending the rest of your days behind bars. The readiness to self-sacrifice in the name of national security is something all of us share, " tells one of the interviewees, signing her name as Euphrates.
The women in Mossad are the agency's most powerful weapon because it's much easier for them to get close to the point of interest in comparison to the men. If necessary, they even have sex with the target.
One of the intelligence agency's greatest achievements, the capture of Mordechai Vanunu, was also successful thanks to a woman. An agent, code-named "Cindy", was able to find and seduce the nuclear physicist in Italy, who was then arrested and brought back to Israel, where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
