Israel's Silent Defender: An Inside Look at Sixty Years of Israeli Intelligence

by Amos Gilboa, EphraimE Lapid

Overview

The Israeli intelligence community has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence. Through its professionalism, daring and creativity, it has made important contributions to intelligence services around the world in the struggle against global terrorism. But how much is known about it? How was it built? What are its areas of activity –and what are the secrets of its success? In Israel's Silent Defender, Brigadier Generals (Res.) Amos Gilboa and Ephraim Lapid have compiled thirty-seven essays written by experts and leaders of Israeli intelligence, among them high-ranking analysts and J2s, commanders of human intelligence (HUMINT), signal intelligence (SIGINT), visual intelligence (VISINT) and open source intelligence (OSINT) units, and heads of the Israel Defense Intelligence (IDI), the Mossad and the Shabak. This book is a project of the Israel Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center and dedicated to the memory of Meir Amit, who was both head of the Mossad and director of IDI. It is published in memory of the fallen heroes of the intelligence community, with profound appreciation for its founders – those who laid the groundwork for the security of the State of Israel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789652295286
Publisher:	Gefen Publishing House
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.50(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

In Israel s Silent Defender, Brigadier Generals (Res.) Amos Gilboa and Ephraim Lapid have compiled thirty-seven essays written by experts and leaders of Israeli intelligence, among them high-ranking analysts and J2s, commanders of human intelligence (HUMINT), signal intelligence (SIGINT), visual intelligence (VISINT) and open source intelligence (OSINT) units, and heads of the Israel Defense Intelligence (IDI), the Mossad and the Shabak.

Editorial Reviews

This collection, edited by Brigadier Generals (Res.) Gilboa and Lapid, brings together the essays of former and current Israeli intelligence officials, discussing topics ranging from a comparison of the intelligence of the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973, to "The Role of Intelligence in the Battle for Hearts and Minds." In addition, the volume details the various sections of Israeli intelligence-reputed to be among the best in the world. Responsible for covert actions outside of national borders, the Mossad is perhaps the best-known of all the branches, but the largest member of Israel's intelligence community is Israel Defense Intelligence (IDI), which includes departments overseeing VISINT (visual intelligence), SIGINT (electronics or signal intelligence), OSINT (open source intelligence), and HUMINT (human intelligence). There is also the super-secretive Israel Security Agency (aka Shabak), which is responsible for counterespionage, protecting the country's most important individuals, and preventing terrorism and subversion. Several essays even discuss the challenges ahead. Three appendices provide additional information not covered in the essays, such as a timeline, photos and short bios of heads of the Israeli Intelligence community, and brief write-ups on other pertinent topics. This is an extremely informative and specialized book, and as a result the bureaucratic writing can be a tough slog. However, there are moments of general interest, such as Gilboa's account of destroying half of Hezbollah's long-range rockets in one day, thanks to years of intelligence work. Photos.
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Publishers Weekly

From the Jewish state’s rebirth nearly two-thirds of a century ago until today, Israel's intelligence services have had the hardest intelligence job in the world: protect an open democracy surrounded by largely hostile states that are populated by citizens taught from childhood that Israel should not exist. This stunning book sets a standard of candor, remarkable for the intelligence world, about both these services’ successes and their failures, and also about how intelligence today is acquired and used – a standard that no other work, in any country, comes close to matching.

R. James Woolsey

Director of the CIA, 1993–1995, Chairman, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies



This book offers its readers a close look at the essence of the Israeli intelligence organization, one of the best and most experienced in the world. It is imperative that professionals throughout the world gain a better understanding of the challenges that Israel faces and the answers that Israel offers the world, in contending with terrorism and threats confronting not only Israel but the entire world today.

Ehud Barak

Minister of Defense, State of Israel

From the Publisher