Rafael, Sylvia (1938–2005)

views updated

Rafael, Sylvia (1938–2005)

Israeli intelligence agent. Name variations: also seen as Raphael; used cover name of Patricia Roxburgh. Born April 1, 1938, near Cape Town, South Africa; died of leukemia, Feb 9, 2005 in South Africa; dau. of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother; m. Anneaus Schjodt (her Norwegian lawyer).

Immigrated to Israel (1963); became a member of Mossad and attained the highest rank for an agent; was sent with a group of Mossad agents to Lillehammer, Norway, to kill Ali Hassan Salameh (1973), who had orchestrated the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics (Sept 5, 1972); with her colleagues, mistakenly identified a Moroccan waiter and shot him dead; received the modest sentence of 5 1/2 years in prison, and served only 22 months before being pardoned and released.

See also Women in World History.