Rise and kill first : the secret history of Israel's targeted assassinations / Ronen Bergman ; translated by Ronnie Hope.
Material type: TextLanguage: English Original language: Hebrew Publisher: New York : Random House, [2018]Copyright date: ©2018Edition: First editionDescription: xxiv, 753 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781400069712
- 1400069718
- 320.95694 23
- HV6295.I75 B47 2018
Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | Bedford Public Library Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction | 320.95694 BER | Available | 32500001745190 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The first definitive history of Israel's targeted killing programs, which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the larger world--from the man hailed by David Remnick as "arguably [Israel's] best investigative reporter."
"An exceptional work, a humane book about an incendiary subject . . . full of shocking moments, surprising disturbances in a narrative full of fateful twists and unintended consequences."-- The New York Times
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award in History * Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by Jennifer Szalai of The New York Times * Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The Economist, The New York Times Book Review, BBC History Magazine, and Mother Jones
The Talmud says: "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first." This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel's DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes preemptively.
In this page-turning, eye-opening book, journalist and military analyst Ronen Bergman--praised by David Remnick as "arguably [Israel's] best investigative reporter"--offers a riveting inside account of the targeted killing programs: their successes, their failures, and the moral and political price exacted on the men and women who approved and carried out the missions.
Bergman has gained the exceedingly rare cooperation of many current and former members of the Israeli government, including Prime Ministers Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as high-level figures in the country's military and intelligence services: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Mossad (the world's most feared intelligence agency), Caesarea (a "Mossad within the Mossad" that carries out attacks on the highest-value targets), and the Shin Bet (an internal security service that implemented the largest targeted assassination campaign ever, in order to stop what had once appeared to be unstoppable: suicide terrorism).
Including never-before-reported, behind-the-curtain accounts of key operations, and based on hundreds of on-the-record interviews and thousands of files to which Bergman has gotten exclusive access over his decades of reporting, Rise and Kill First brings us deep into the heart of Israel's most secret activities. Bergman traces, from statehood to the present, the gripping events and thorny ethical questions underlying Israel's targeted killing campaign, which has shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the larger world.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 637-725) and index.
In blood and fire -- A secret world is born -- The bureau for arranging meetings with God -- The entire Supreme Command, with one blow -- "As if the sky were falling on our heads" -- A series of catastrophes -- "Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine" -- Meir Dagan and his expertise -- The PLO goes international -- "I have no problem with anyone that I've killed" -- "Wrong identification of a target is not a failure. It's a mistake." -- Hubris -- Death in the toothpaste -- A pack of wild dogs -- "Abu Nidal, abu shmidal" -- Black flag -- The Shin Bet coup -- Then came a spark -- Intifada -- Nebuchadnezzar -- Green storm rising -- The age of the drone -- Mughniyeh's revenge -- "Just one switch, off and on" -- "Bring us the head of Ayyash" -- "Sly as a snake, naïve as a little child" -- A low point -- All-out war -- "More suicide bombers than explosive vests" -- "The target has been eliminated, but the operation failed" -- The rebellion in Unit 8200 -- Picking anemones -- The radical front -- Killing Maurice -- Impressive tactical success, disastrous strategic failure.
"The first definitive history of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF's targeted killing programs, from the man hailed by David Remnick as "arguably [Israel's] best investigative reporter." The Talmud says: "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first." This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel's DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes preemptively. In this page-turning, eye-opening book, journalist and military analyst Ronen Bergman offers a riveting inside account of the targeted killing programs--their successes, their failures, and the moral and political price exacted on the men and women who approved and carried out the missions. Bergman has gained the exceedingly rare cooperation of many current and former members of the Israeli government, including Prime Ministers Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as high-level figures in the country's military and intelligence services: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Mossad (the world's most feared intelligence agency), Caesarea (a "Mossad within the Mossad" that carries out attacks on the highest-value targets), and the Shin Bet (an internal security service that implemented the largest targeted assassination campaign ever, in order to stop what had once appeared to be unstoppable: suicide terrorism). Including never-before-reported, behind-the-curtain accounts of key operations, and based on hundreds of on-the-record interviews and thousands of files to which Bergman has gotten exclusive access over his decades of reporting, Rise and Kill First brings us deep into the heart of Israel's most secret activities. Bergman traces, from statehood to the present, the gripping events and thorny ethical questions underlying Israel's targeted killing campaign, which has shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the entire world."--Dust jacket.