© Columbia University Press
The Israeli Secret Services and the Struggle Against Terrorism
February, 2009
Cloth, 232 pages, 12 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-14042-3
$27.50
/ £19.00
"[Pedahzur's] insights are so well reasoned and relevant that the pages almost turn themselves." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] superb examination of Israel's secret services." — Daniel Byman, New York Post
"More than entertaining spy stories . . . this book will be a great aid to other Western countries around the world struggling to confront terror." — Jewish Book World
"[Pedahzur] offers a brilliant description of Israel’s fight against terrorism from 1948 to the present." — Seth J. Frantzman, The Jerusalem Post
"A fascinating history of counterterrorism by Israeli security agencies . . . Highly recommended." — Choice
"Replete with detail, vignettes, and insights, this book provides a unique inside account of the Israeli intelligence and security services' sixty-year-long struggle against terrorism. It is the most comprehensive and authoritative depiction and analysis of this struggle currently available in the English language." — Bruce Hoffman, author of Inside Terrorism
"A most valuable addition to the growing literature on the quest for a proper response to contemporary terrorism. Ami Pedahzur's analysis is responsible, balanced, and sober. It assesses the successes and failures of Israel against the background of manifold practical constraints and limitations, while anchoring the assessment in the most up-to-date contemporary social science theories. The result is a very fine book, which in fact goes beyond the existing parameters of antiterrorism as understood in Israel and also many other democracies." — Gabriel Ben-Dor, National Security Studies Center, University of Haifa
"A succinct but thoroughly researched account of how Israel's security agencies have sought to defeat terrorist organizations from the pre-state Yishuv to events following the 2006 war with Hezbollah. After examining the historical record, Ami Pedahzur concludes that the application of defensive measures has proved more successful in deterring terrorist attacks than 'targeted killings' and other forms of warlike measures." — Leonard Weinberg, University of Nevada, Reno
"Ami Pedahzur has written an astute, well-documented, and compelling analysis of Israel's reliance on the 'war model' to combat terrorism. Israel's political and military leaders were consistently unable to resist the temptation of dramatic and costly uses of force when modest defensive or conciliatory measures were preferable. This lesson should not be lost on any national policymaker confronted by terrorism." — Martha Crenshaw, Stanford University