112: Ronen Bergman: Rise and Kill First, Israel's secret history of targeted assassinations

Follow Jonny Gould’s Jewish State podcast here.

“Since World War II, Israel has assassinated more people than any other country in the Western world.” is a brutal sentence from the start of “Rise and Kill First”.

Our guest is Ronen Bergman, author of the New York Times bestseller, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies. It’s the product of a thousand interviewees, some of whom Ronen quizzed multiple times, along with millions of words of research.

The detail also comes from a wealth of unclassified documents, some long forgotten in the private possession of veterans who gave them to him.

There were many suggestions for the book’s title but “Rise and Kill First” from the Babylonian Talmud kept on coming up in the many conversations he had with his interviewees.

It’s a phrase which has become a mission statement, seemingly inscribed in the mindset - even hearts - of many of Israel’s defensive operators and underpinned by generational Jewish persecution.

But for all the sudden, brutal decision-making and actions, this remains a humane account and the hope which emerges from it for a more progressive society.

None of the contents of the book are endorsed or verified by the Israeli defense establishment - which makes the reading still more fascinating. Listen to this fascinating interview with Ronen Bergman.

Recorded in May 2023.

Follow Jonny Gould’s Jewish State podcast here.

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