Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER â€¢Â The first definitive history of the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDFâ€™s targeted killing programs, hailed byÂ The New York TimesÂ asÂ â€œan exceptional work, a humane book about an incendiary subject.â€

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD IN HISTORY

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYÂ JENNIFER SZALAI,Â THE NEW YORK TIMESÂ
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYÂ The EconomistÂ â€¢Â The New York Times Book ReviewÂ â€¢ BBC History MagazineÂ â€¢ Mother JonesÂ â€¢Â Kirkus Reviews

The Talmud says: â€œIf someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.â€ This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israelâ€™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 Bergmanâ€”praised by David Remnick asÂ â€œarguably [Israelâ€™s] best investigative reporterâ€â€”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 countryâ€™s military and intelligence services: the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), the Mossad (the worldâ€™s most feared intelligence agency), Caesarea (a â€œMossad within the Mossadâ€ 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 Israelâ€™s most secret activities. Bergman traces, from statehood to the present, the gripping events and thorny ethical questions underlying Israelâ€™s targeted killing campaign, which has shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East, and the entire world.

â€œA remarkable feat of fearless and responsible reporting . . . important, timely, and informative.â€â€”John le CarrÃ©

Country	USA
Brand	Random House Books for Young Readers
Manufacturer	Random House
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	FLBOOKSTOREMMC9781400069712
Model	FLBOOKSTOREMMC9781400069712
Color	Black
ReleaseDate	2018-01-30
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781400069712

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations

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