vault backup: 2026-05-14 20:03:05

10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Ora Ben-Shalom.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+category: "Iran-Contra"
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - IranContra
+  - Israel
+  - Military
+summary: "After the deaths of Freddie and Herut (Ari Ben-Menashe's daughter), Ora and Ari Ben-Menashe began a relationship in late 1986, eventually living together in Jerusalem."
+location: "United States"
+---
+
+[[Ora Ben-Shalom]] is the wife of [[Ari Ben-Menashe]]. She was born in the [[United States|United States]] to a [[Canada|Canadian]] Jewish mother and an [[Austria|Austrian]] Jewish father. Her family moved to [[Israel]] when she was 12, and they changed their family name from Friedman to Ben-Shalom. The family was religiously observant and ultra-rightwing politically.[^1]
+
+[[Ora Ben-Shalom|Ora]] joined the External Relations Department (ERD) of the [[Israel]]/Military Intelligence as a first lieutenant in 1979, where she met [[Ari Ben-Menashe]]. She was fluent in English, Spanish, and Hebrew. She later left the ERD in 1980 to work for [[Mossad]] and was appointed to a prestigious position in public relations at the [[Hilton International]] in [[Jerusalem]], while remaining a [[Mossad]] "operative."[^1]
+
+After the deaths of [[Marie Fernanda|Freddie]] and Herut (Ari Ben-Menashe's daughter), [[Ora Ben-Shalom|Ora]] and [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] began a relationship in late 1986, eventually living together in [[Jerusalem]]. She traveled with him on various business trips to [[Europe]].[^1]
+
+In August 1987, [[Ora Ben-Shalom|Ora]] was put under surveillance and interrogated by [[SHABAK]] (Israel's internal security agency) after she was discovered meeting with [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] people in [[Tel Aviv]]. She admitted to talking to the [[United States|Americans]] about [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe]] and his knowledge of the [[Iran-Contra Affair]]. Her ties with [[Mossad]] were terminated, but [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe]] intervened to prevent her prosecution, claiming she was pregnant and they planned to marry. Their daughter, Shira, was born on July 22, 1988.[^1]
+
+In October 1989, [[Ora Ben-Shalom|Ora]] and [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] planned a vacation to [[Sydney]], [[Australia]]. However, [[Ari Ben-Menashe|Ben-Menashe]] was arrested in [[Los Angeles]] before they could depart. [[Ora Ben-Shalom|Ora]] later divorced [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] in [[Israel]].[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.