Black, Ian and Morris, Benny. Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's
Intelligence Services. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991. 603 pages.
With its 4 million citizens, Israel seemingly flaunts a higher per
capita rate of official covert activity than other sovereign countries.
Meanwhile, obliging American readers are nostalgic for their own lost glory,
presenting a consistent market for books on the much-vaunted efficiency of
Israeli intelligence. Journalist Ian Black and historian Benny Morris both
have strong sympathies for Israel and kept this book "legally correct" --
they submitted it to Israeli military censors, and many of their sources
were required by law to keep their names out of print. It reads like a sober
academic tome, perhaps designed as a counterweight to the sensational book
by Israeli intelligence ex-patriot Victor Ostrovsky. The authors are strong
on episodes of early historical interest, for which declassified primary
sources are available, and extremely weak or absent on essential contemporary
issues: Israel's role in Iran-contra and Panama, the extent to which Israeli
intelligence is responsive to Israel's dependence on arms sales to Third
World dictators, and the question of Israeli covert activity and surveillance
in the U.S. through the use of Jewish community groups in America.
ISBN 0-8021-1159-9
Extract the names from this source
Back to search page