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By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer by Victor Ostrovsky and Claire Hoy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990. xii + 336 pp. Appendices to p. 356. Glossary to p. 361. Index to p. 371. $22.95, hardcover.
By Way of Deception is an insider's expose of the Mossad, Israel's Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, by Victor Ostrovsky, a former case officer, and Claire Hoy, a Canadian journalist. The book was destined to become an instant bestseller after its publication in the United States had been initially barred at the request of the Israeli government by New York Supreme Court Justice Michael Dontzin on September 12, 1990. In issuing the temporary restraining order, Justice Dontzin responded to a lawsuit brought by the Israeli government, which contended that the book "would disseminate extremely confidential information" that would "endanger the lives of various people in the employ of the State of Israel and would be detrimental to the Government of Israel." On the following day, however, the ban on the book was lifted by four justices of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court on the ground that Israel had "failed to overcome the heavy presumption against prior restraint on publication." The legal wrangling, coupled with the allegation by Israel that Mr. Ostrovsky had violated contractual obligations by revealing state secrets, ensured the book's rapid climb to the very top of the New York Times' nonfiction bestseller chart.
The central figure in this drama is an improbable villain. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, to a Canadian father and Israeli mother, Mr. Ostrovsky migrated to Israel in his early teens and eventually emerged as the youngest officer to have ever served in the Israel Defense Forces. He moved back to Canada in 1971 but returned to Israel in 1977 and joined the Navy for a four-year stint. In October 1982, Mr. Ostrovsky was recruited by the Mossad for a rigorous three-year training program from which he graduated as a katsa, one of 35 officers operating worldwide as recruiters of enemy agents. His employment as a full-fledged katsa was rather short--14 months according to an affidavit filed by the Israeli government, and only five months according to his own account--and it...