Ilan Amit (Hebrew: אִילָן עָמִית; January 19, 1935 – March 11, 2013) was an Israeli mathematician, spiritual philosopher, and defence consultant. He worked as a strategist and senior advisor to Israel's defence establishment, including the Mossad.
Ilan Amit | |
|---|---|
אילן עמית | |
 Ilan Amit in 2009 | |
| Born | Ilan Kroch January 19, 1935 |
| Died | March 11, 2013 (aged 78) |
| Resting place | Kiryat Shaul Cemetery |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Alma mater | Technion – Israel Institute of Technology |
| Scientific career | |
| Doctoral advisor | Elisha Netanyahu |
Biography
editIlan Kroch (later Amit) was born in Haifa. His father, a mathematics teacher, was deputy principal of the Hebrew Reali School and a founder of the Hebrew Scouts Movement in Israel.[1][2] Amit studied at the Reali School, where he was a student of Josef Schächter. In 1960, Amit was one of the founders of the moshav shitufi Yodfat, where he became a proponent of the teachings of mystic George Gurdjieff.[3][4]
After completing his undergraduate studies in mathematics at the Technion, Amit worked at Mekorot, soon becoming head of the company's operations research department.[5] He completed his Ph.D. in mathematics from the Technion in 1967, under the supervision of Elisha Netanyahu.
Amit joined the military research department at Rafael in the late 1970s, not long after which he became blind as the result of illness. In the late 1980s Amit joined a team in Mossad's intelligence division that aimed to engage in intelligence estimates and formulate recommendations in the area of policy and strategy.[2]
In 2009, he became a member of the Prime Minister's National Security Council. He died at the age of 78 following a stroke, survived by his wife and four children.[6]
Awards and commemoration
editPresence: Ilan Amit's Journey, a film about Amit's life, was released in 2018.[7][8]
Published works
editAmit has translated Kierkegaard into Hebrew and published essays on Emily Dickinson and on therapy of the absurd, along with many classified research papers.[9] His published books include:
- Amit, Ilan (2013). חידת הנוכחות [The Mystery of Presence] (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv: Sifrey Aliyat HaGag. ISBN 978-965-545-667-7.
- Amit, Ilan (2009). The Lamp: A (Not Quite) Spiritual Biography. Eureka Editions. ISBN 978-90-72395-64-1.
- Amit, Ilan (2005). גורדייף והעבודה הפנימית [Gurdjieff and the Inner Work] (in Hebrew). Mapa Publishing. ISBN 978-965-521-015-6.
External links
edit- Sviri, Sara (3 August 2013). "מה כתב הפילוסוף של המוסד לפני מותו" [What the Mossad's Philosopher Wrote Before His Death]. Haaretz (in Hebrew).
References
edit- ^ Kapra, Michal (2 May 1986). "לא מגשש באפֵלה: מבט אחר". Maariv (in Hebrew). pp. 18–20.
- ^ a b Aderet, Ofer (22 March 2013). "A Blind Man With Great Vision". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Glucklich, Ariel (2017). Everyday Mysticism: A Contemplative Community at Work in the Desert. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 68. ISBN 9780300231373. LCCN 2017934982.
- ^ Azize, Joseph (2012). "Gurdjieff's Sacred Dances and Movements". In Cusack, Carole M.; Norman, Alex (eds.). Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production. Leiden: Brill. p. 326. ISBN 978-90-04-22187-1.
- ^ Public Administration in Israel and Abroad. Jerusalem: Israel Institute of Public Administration. 1966. p. 53.
- ^ "מהי האמת הפנימית?". Ynet (in Hebrew). 4 April 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ Inov, Ofer (Director) (2018). להיות נוכח. המסע של אילן עמית [Presence: Ilan Amit's Journey] (Film) (in Hebrew). Israel.
- ^ "Gurdjieff, Ilan Amit and the Inner Work". Secret Tel Aviv. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ Hasan-Rokem, Galit; Shulman, David Dean, eds. (1996). Untying the Knot: On Riddles and Other Enigmatic Modes. Oxford University Press. p. ix. ISBN 978-0-19-510186-7. OCLC 252560465.