Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations Paperback – July 9, 2019

I am not Jewish, but my wife is. I really enjoyed this book because it gave me the complete history of Israel from 2000 years ago and up to now. Description of different targeted killings and operations whether they went good or bad was with such detail, that, I was so fascinated I couldn’t put the book down. Even now, the Prime Minister of Israel is exactly what Ronan said that he is. I really hope that the war gets over soon and Palestine has its own state. Dagan was right when he said that a 2 State Resolution is the only way to end the war. And Israel has to stay out of the new state of Palestine if there is to be any peace at all , I think. I don’t read many books, but once I started this book I couldn’t wait to get home from work to read more,it was unbelievably written. My thanks to Ronen Bergman And Lawrence O’Donnell because that’s where I saw Ron Bergman first on the Lawrence. O’Donnell show.

I think this book needs to be put in perspective from the point of view of the person that reads it given that the Israeli / Palestinian issue is such an emotionally charged issue.I came to read this as a 55-year-old white man from the South. I was raised in a fundamentalist religious background, which I have rejected in my adulthood.I was raised to respect Jews - as most fundamentalist Christians are - and I have nothing but positive interactions with them. I live in Dallas which people outside of Dallas may be surprised to know, has a large Jewish population. I have family in Germany that reflexively take the Palestinian point of view when there is any issue regarding "the conflict." I have friends that are Persian and have seen fire in their eyes when one mentions Israel. But little is spoken out loud by my German family or my Persian friends.I have always felt that Israelis were purely victims and that their actions against the Palestinians were justified in order to protect themselves. Well, this book unveils the lie in this. But, I never felt manipulated by the author.When the author first speaks of the extrajudicial killings with little oversight I said to myself, "this is a recipe for disaster. These people are going to become unleashed assassins." And that is what unfolded.I still believe the Israelis need to be vigilant and I still believe that most of the world would prefer that Israel just go away because they are perceived as a nuisance. But, the Jews have contributed much to the world. The world would look very different without them and not necessarily a better place. Hopefully, they can come to a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. Unfortunately, as with many oppressed groups, the system that is fighting the oppression becomes "to big to succeed." Often the powers that be really don't want to settle the problem because then they wouldn't have a mission. [Much like the civil rights apparatus in the U.S.].

There’s not really a ton of nuance or mystery in Rise and Kill First. It is exactly what it says it is on the front cover: A secret history of Israel’s targeted killing program. It’s just six hundred pages of various operations. Many of these operations were successful, but the author has also included several notable failures and missteps and how these actions have changed the practices of Israel’s much feared targeted killing apparatus.The killing starts early and often. It is an odd feeling as the reader throughout because with few notable exceptions, you know that the target is going to be killed, but Bergman manages to keep it interesting by writing in a detailed, yet cinematic style where the reader can almost picture step by step the action going down. This is a special quality that doesn’t happen with many books of this type. The book never dragged and always kept me engaged despite it’s less than savory subject matter.This is the type of book that one creates when the country has been under threat since day one, but it is a whole lot deeper than [plot to damage Israel, target plotter, kill him]. It’s a human story with loves, hates, passion, successes and failures that I wasn’t expecting when I picked it up.

This is really a thorough history of Israel and its Arab neighbors, sprinkled with murders. Many murders. By BOTH combatants. Nobody gets away unscathed. All are vicious murderers

I knew very little of the Mossad. Most of it told in “mythical awe” in the historical fiction and spy fiction I like to read. I always assumed the targeted killings were slick operations and rarely failed. Also I never thought how an assignation could be tactically successful but strategically disastrous. In addition I thought Mossad was the only intelligence agency in Israel apart from the IDF. This book dispelled a lot of those myths and misunderstandings.However the out of box thinking for most of targeted killings was fascinating. It often felt like I was reading a spy novel. The descriptions of the operations were so detailed you felt like you were right there observing the whole process. But this book is NOT fiction. Many people died during the killings and retaliations after.The book did give me a better understanding of the existential threat Israel is up against in the Middle East. I place no judgment on the targeted killings. One wishes it wouldn’t be “standard practice”’ but understand why it may be the only solution available.I still believe in the two state solution but understand better the hard work and trust needed to achieve it.Highly recommend the read!