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Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

05.18.06 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

A “Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence,” published this month, is the third in a new series of reference works on major intelligence services, following volumes on British and U.S. intelligence.

“Mossad,” the name of the Israeli foreign intelligence service, is probably the best known Hebrew word after “shalom,” the preface suggests.

The new Dictionary, written by Israeli professor Ephraim Kahana, provides background, updated organizational charts, and other information on the Mossad and several other Israeli intelligence and security agencies.

The 424-page Dictionary provides an introduction to Israeli intelligence, along with entries on significant persons, operations and key historical episodes. All of the obvious topics are covered, from the capture of fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann to the Jonathan Pollard case, as are other relatively obscure subjects, such as the defense security organization Malmab, and its querulous director Yehiel Horev.

The individual subject entries are mostly brief, and do not include sources or references. But the book includes a fine bibliography (at least for those who lack Hebrew) featuring hardcopy and online resources on Israeli intelligence.

See “Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence” by Ephraim Kahana, Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham, MD, May 2006.

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