On the Job Tradecraft
Journalist Matti Friedman has written an important
book on the adventures of four Israeli spies in the service of pre-state and
post-state Israel from early 1948 to mid-1949. At the start Gamliel, Isaac,
Havakuk and Yakuba were operating under the orders of the Arab Section of the
Palmach, Israel’s special ops force. They were all Mizrahi Jews from the Levant
and were fluent in Arabic which enabled them to pass in the Arab section of
Haifa and in Beirut. What we witness is a very real example of on-the-job
training in spy craft.
They were recruited by the Palmach to engage in
sabotage, and to gather information on arms movements, Arab militias, and
public opinion. They never knew they would be able to return safely and were
under the constant threat of exposure. Remember at the outset there was no
country to go home to and when the Israeli state was proclaimed it was not
clear it would survive the onslaught of the Arab armies.
One highlight for me was an attack on Hitler’s yacht which
was owned by a Lebanese businessman. It was being refitted as a warship in
Beirut harbor. The Beirut team assisted an Israeli frogman whose mission was to
blow up the ship in the harbor. Although the yacht did not sink, it was
sufficiently damaged to prevent it from becoming a warship.
Friedman highlights the Ashkenazi prejudice against
Misrahi Jews, a prejudice though less than before, exists to this day. He also
highlights the fact the spies realized early on the Palestinian problem was not
going to go away.
Along the way we get a sense of the boredom and
loneliness the spies felt every day which was punctuated by short bursts of
intense fear. He also notes that they developed relationships with Arab women.
After all they were all in their early 20’s. Friedman has brought his keen
journalistic eye into the very early days of Israel’s spy agency, the Mossad.
It is well worth the read.
For the full Amazon URL see: On the Job Tradecraft (amazon.com)
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