The Israeli Secret Service (1977)
Richard DeaconQuickly sketching the role of Jews in the various intelligence services of their adoptive countries, he reasons that the lack of a state plus Israel's current precarious existence together forced the tiny nation to develop one of the most effective and at times unorthodox secret services in the world.
This journalistic account–pieced together from newspaper stories, published sources, and some hints of personal interviews–analyzes the integrated Israeli service: Mossad, Shabak (Shin Bet or Internal security service), and military intelligence. Deacon stresses the important interaction between the military and the intelligence services and reiterates the successes and failures in the familiar cases of Elie Cohen, Woffgang Lotz, Israel Beer, the Entebbe Raid, hunts for Nazis, and the more recent anti-terrorist avenger squads.
Computer technology and espionage–responsible for the Israeli 1967 victory–and "Psychic Espionage" are some of the unusual sidelights presented in this utilitarian history of Israeli espionage.