By Way of Deception

Last updated

By Way of Deception
By Way of Deception.jpg
First edition
Author Victor Ostrovsky
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Mossad
Publisher Stoddart Publishing
Publication date
1990
Pages372
ISBN 0-9717595-0-2
OCLC 52617140
Followed by The Other Side of Deception  

By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer [1] is a nonfiction book by a former katsa (case officer) in the Mossad, Victor Ostrovsky, and Canadian journalist and author Claire Hoy.

Contents

Title

The title of the book is what Ostrovsky alleges to be the English translation of the former motto of the Mossad, a phrase from Proverbs 24:6, be-tahbūlōt ta`aseh lekhā milkhamāh (Hebrew: בתחבולות תעשה לך מלחמה).

Ostrovsky has stated that his name is not a pen name and that if he wanted to hide, he would not have written the book in the first place.

Summary

The book starts with Ostrovsky's service in the Israeli Defense Forces. After taking psychological and other preliminary tests, he rejects a potential job as a Mossad assassin but accepts a trainee katsa position.

He specifically addresses the suicide bombing of the US Marine compound in Beirut that killed several hundred US Marines in Lebanon. He says that Mossad learned of the time and location of the attack in advance through its network of informants but told only general information, without the specifics, to the US. [2]

He attributes trafficking heroin as a source of raising funds for operations outside government regulation. He blames Mossad for assassinating Khadir, a PLO diplomat sent by Arafat to start peace negotiations with the Israeli government to prevent an invasion of Lebanon targeting the PLO.

Ostrovsky's's disillusionment grows, culminating in retirement after being scapegoated for a failed attempt at capturing top PLO officials.

The second half alleges other operations between 1971 and 1985, such as Operation Sphinx, in which Iraqi nuclear scientists were recruited while they were in France to gather information about Iraq's nuclear reactor Osiraq. Israel ultimately ends doing so by an Israeli air strike in 1981.

Israeli litigation

In 1990, Israel tried to stop the book sale with a preliminary injunction, arguing that publication would "endanger agents in the field". It was the first (and, to date, only) attempt of a sovereign state to stop a book from being published in the United States. Lawyers for Israel convinced Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Dontzin to issue the injunction, preventing the publication and distribution of By Way of Deception. [3]

On September 13, less than 48 hours after the injunction had been issued, an appeals court threw it out. For the week of 7 October 1990, [4] the New York Times best seller list rated the book #1 on its nonfiction list. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavon Affair</span> 1954 Israeli false flag operation in Egypt

The Lavon affair was a failed Israeli covert operation, codenamed Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the summer of 1954. As part of a false flag operation, a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence to plant bombs inside Egyptian-, American-, and British-owned civilian targets: cinemas, libraries, and American educational centers. The bombs were timed to detonate several hours after closing time. The attacks were to be blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian communists, "unspecified malcontents", or "local nationalists" with the aim of creating a climate of sufficient violence and instability to induce the British government to retain its occupying troops in Egypt's Suez Canal zone. The operation caused no casualties among the population, but resulted in the deaths of four operatives. The overseer of the operation allegedly informed the Egyptians, after which 11 suspected operatives were arrested. Two committed suicide after being captured, two were executed by the Egyptian authorities, two of them were acquitted at trial, and the remaining five received prison terms ranging from 7 years to life in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Hassan Salameh</span> Militant Palestinian nationalist (1941–1979)

Ali Hassan Salameh was a Palestinian militant who was the chief of operations for Black September and founder of Force 17. He was assassinated in January 1979 as part of an assassination campaign by Mossad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lillehammer affair</span> Murder by Mossad in Lillehammer, Norway

The Lillehammer affair was the murder of Ahmed Bouchikhi, a Moroccan waiter and brother of the French musician Chico Bouchikhi, by Mossad agents in Lillehammer, Norway, on 21 July 1973. The Israeli agents had mistaken their target for Ali Hassan Salameh, the chief of operations for Black September. Six of 15 of the Mossad team were captured and convicted of complicity in the killing by the Norwegian justice system in a major blow to the intelligence agency's reputation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Frangieh</span> Lebanese politician (1941–1978)

Antoine "Tony" Suleiman Frangieh was a Lebanese politician and militia commander during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. He was the son of Suleiman Frangieh, a former Lebanese president.

Victor John Ostrovsky is an author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the Israeli Mossad for 14 months before his dismissal. After leaving the Mossad, Ostrovsky authored two books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception, a #1 New York Times bestseller in 1990, and The Other Side of Deception several years later. Both books were criticized by journalists, scholars, and historians for their lack of historical accuracy and for containing sensationalist claims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yisrael Galili</span> Israeli politician (1911–1986)

Yisrael Galili was an Israeli politician, government minister and member of Knesset. Before Israel's independence in 1948, he served as Chief of Staff of the paramilitary organization known as the Haganah.

Dory Chamoun is a Lebanese politician who led the National Liberal Party (NLP) from 25 May 1991 till 10 April 2021 when he was succeeded by his son Camille Dory Chamoun who became a MP in the 2022 Lebanese general election. He is also a prominent member of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, a coalition of politicians, academics, and businessmen who oppose the pro-Syrian March 8 Alliance and Syrian influence in Lebanon. He is the eldest son of late Lebanese president Camille Chamoun and brother of Dany Chamoun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marada Movement</span> Political party in Lebanon

The Marada Movement is a Lebanese political party and a former militia active during the Lebanese Civil War named after the legendary Marada warriors of the early Middle Ages that fought on the external edge of the Byzantine Empire. Originally designated the Marada Brigade, the group initially emerged as the personal militia of Suleiman Frangieh, president of Lebanon at the outbreak of the war in 1975. They were also initially known as the Zgharta Liberation Army, after Frangieh's hometown of Zgharta in northern Lebanon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Forces</span> Lebanese Christian nationalist political party and former militia

The Lebanese Forces is a Lebanese Christian-based political party and former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament and is therefore the largest party in parliament.

Operation Bayonet was a covert operation directed by Mossad to assassinate individuals they accused of being involved in the 1972 Munich massacre. The targets were members of the Palestinian armed militant group Black September and operatives of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). Authorised by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir in the autumn of 1972, the operation is believed to have continued for over twenty years. While Mossad killed several prominent Palestinians during the operation, they never managed to kill the mastermind behind Munich, namely Abu Daoud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yitzhak Hofi</span> Israeli general (1927–2014)

Yitzhak Hofi was a member of the Palmach, IDF General, chief of the Northern Command (Israel), and director of the Mossad.

<i>Israels Secret Wars</i> 1991 book written by Ian Black and Benny Morris

Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services is a 1991 book written by Ian Black and Benny Morris about the history of the Israeli intelligence services from the period of the Yishuv to the end of the 1980s. It was updated in 1994 to include the Gulf War period.

<i>Every Spy a Prince</i>

Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israel's Intelligence Community is a 1990 book by Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman on the history of the Israeli intelligence community.

Dabur-class patrol boat

The Dabur class is a class of patrol boats built at the Sewart Seacraft shipyard in the United States for the Israeli Navy. These naval vessels are also built by IAI-Ramta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mossad</span> National intelligence agency of Israel

The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, popularly known as Mossad, is the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman and Shin Bet.

The Tyous Team of Commandos – TTC or simply Tyous for short, was a small far-right Christian militia which fought in the 1975-78 phase of the Lebanese Civil War.

<i>The Other Side of Deception</i> 1994 book by Victor Ostrovsky

The Other Side of Deception is a follow-up to the best-selling nonfiction book By Way of Deception by Victor Ostrovsky, a former Mossad agent with operational knowledge. It contains a bibliography of newspaper articles in support of original book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Forces (Christian militia)</span> Lebanese Christian faction in the Lebanese Civil War

The Lebanese Forces was one of the main Lebanese Christian factions of the Lebanese Civil War. Originally an umbrella organization for different parties, the Lebanese Forces later became a separate organization. The Lebanese Forces replaced the previous Kataeb Regulatory Forces as the military arm of the Christian Kataeb Party. It was mainly staffed by Maronite Christians loyal to Bachir Gemayel, and fought against the Lebanese National Movement, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Syrian Army among other enemies. The group gained infamy for their perpetration of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, which primarily targeted Palestinian refugees following Gemayel's assassination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iran–Israel proxy conflict</span> Ongoing conflict in Western Asia

The Iran–Israel proxy conflict, also known as the Iran–Israel proxy war or Iran–Israel Cold War, is an ongoing proxy conflict between Iran and Israel. In the Israeli–Lebanese conflict, Iran has supported Lebanese Shia militias, most notably Hezbollah. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran has backed Palestinian groups such as Hamas. Israel has supported Iranian rebels, such as the People's Mujahedin of Iran, conducted airstrikes against Iranian allies in Syria and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. In 2018 Israeli forces directly attacked Iranian forces in Syria.

The State of Israel has been accused of engaging in state-sponsored terrorism, as well as committing acts of state terrorism on a daily basis in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Countries that have condemned Israel's role as a perpetrator of state-sponsored terrorism or state terrorism include Bolivia, Iran, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen.

References

  1. "Confessions of an ex-Mossad agent," Excerpt from Victor Ostrovsky's, "By way of deception". Retrieved 19.01.2015.
  2. Bamford, James (14 October 1990). "Mossad: From Zion to Gehenna : BY WAY OF DECEPTION The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer By Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  3. Gross, Ken (1 October 1990). "As Israel Tries to Smother His Book, a Former Mossad Spy Spills Some Dark Secrets of That Shadowy Service". People. Vol. 34, no. 13. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  4. "BEST SELLERS: October 7, 1990". The New York Times. 7 October 1990.
  5. "The New York Times Best Seller List: October 7, 1990 (Non-Fiction)" (PDF). Hawes Publications. Retrieved 23 March 2024.