Ronen Bergman

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. Built from interviews with Israeli Prime Ministers as well as high-level figures in Mossad, and the country's military and intelligence services - Rise and Kill First includes never-before-reported, behind-the-curtain accounts of key operations, and based on hundreds of on-the-record interviews and thousands of previously unseen files. 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.

AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A gripping investigation of Israel's assassination policy' Sunday Times 'Remarkable' Observer 'Riveting' Daily Mail 'Compelling' John le Carre Winner of 2018 National Jewish Book Award From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, the instinct to take every measure to defend the Jewish people has been hardwired into Israel's DNA. This is the riveting inside account of the targeted assassinations that have been used countless times, on enemies large and small, sometimes in response to attacks against the Israeli people and sometimes pre-emptively. Rise and Kill First counts their successes, failures and the moral and political price exacted on those who carried out the missions which have shaped the Israeli nation, the Middle East and the entire world.

Otrávená zubní pasta, která zabije cíl až po měsíci? Explodující mobily? Rezervní pneumatiky v autě napěchované výbušninami? Autor Ronen Bergman vyzpovídal více než 1 000 agentů a vojáků izraelských tajných služeb a odkrývá politiku Izraele, který se těmito prostředky brání před nepřáteli a teroristickými útoky. Kontroverzní kniha mimo jiné uvádí, že Izrael otrávil palestinského politika Jásira Arafata pomocí radiace, což izraelská vláda stále oficiálně odmítá.

Otrávená zubní pasta, která zabije cíl až po měsíci? Explodující mobily? Rezervní pneumatiky v autě napěchované výbušninami? Autor Ronen Bergman vyzpovídal více než 1 000 agentů a vojáků izraelských tajných služeb a odkrývá politiku Izraele, který se těmito prostředky brání před nepřáteli a teroristickými útoky. Kontroverzní kniha mimo jiné uvádí, že Izrael otrávil palestinského politika Jásira Arafata pomocí radiace, což izraelská vláda stále oficiálně odmítá.