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Spies of No Country
Spies of No Country: Behind Enemy Lines at the Birth of Israel | Matti Friedman
10 posts | 5 read | 10 to read
From the award-winning and critically-acclaimed author of Pumpkinflowers, the never-before-told story of the mysterious "Arab Section": the Jewish-"Arab" spies who, under deep cover in Beirut as refugees, helped the new State of Israel win the War of Independence. In his third non-fiction book, Matti Friedman introduces us to four unknown young men who are caught up in the fraught events surrounding the birth of Israel in 1948 and drawn into secret lives, becoming the nucleus of Israel's intelligence service. The tiny, amateur unit known as the "Arab Section" was conceived during WWII by British spies and by Jewish militia leaders in Palestine. Consisting of Jews from Arab countries who could pass as Arabs, it was meant to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage and assassinations. When the first Jewish-Arab war erupted in 1948 and Palestinian refugees began fleeing the fighting, a small number of Section agents disguised as refugees joined the exodus. They fled to Beirut, where they spent the next two years under cover, sending messages back to Israel over a radio antenna disguised as a clothesline. Of the dozen men in the unit at the war's beginning, five were caught and executed. Espionage, John le Carr once wrote, is the "secret theater of our society." Spies of No Country is not just a spy story, but a surprising window into the nature of Israel--a country that sees itself as belonging to the story of Europe, but where more than half of the population is native to the Middle East. Starring complicated characters with slippery identities moving in the shadow of great events, Spies of No Country tells a very different story about what Israel is and how it was created.
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audraelizabeth
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Very interesting and informative. #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks #nonfictionnovember

14 likes2 comments
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Anna40
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Mista'arvim, Ones Who Become Like Arabs, is the name of the first 'Israeli' spies.Early 1940s and the State of Israel is not yet founded: the agents are young Jews from Syria or Lebanon who look like Arabs, speak Arabic, but have to be taught to speak/be like Arabs.They have no money for bus fares or hotels and rely on earning incomes as shop keepers or taxi drivers.Missions are extremely dangerous. Friedman retells their stories. Gripping, moving

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Anna40
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Anna40
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Smrloomis
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Just started this but so far it‘s really interesting.

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Cinfhen
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Do spies count as soldiers??? What do you think @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft because then I can use this for #Booked2019 #SoldiersStory 😜Regardless, I really enjoyed this story about Israel‘s first use of Arab born Jews from Muslim countries (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq ) who used their language skills and familiarity with locals to gather information during the early days of the 1948 War of Independence. Fascinating history 🤓

BarbaraTheBibliophage I say yes. They are defending their country, just in a more clandestine way. The book sounds interesting. I‘m reading that Martin Fletcher book you thought was only so-so right now. Kinda the same time period. 5y
Cinfhen Thanks @BarbaraTheBibliophage 😘how are you finding the Fletcher novel?? I just remember really feeling like his writing was weak especially when it came to sex/romance. I remember cringing 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen I actually really like it so far. Just 30% in, though. He‘s not a romance writer, that‘s for sure. 5y
100 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Cinfhen
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Broke my rule and had an afternoon latte. Think I was having a jet lag headache and felt like caffeine might help. Still enjoying this book very much. I really love the way Matti Friedman tells a story. This stuff is where myths & legends are born. So good!

Reviewsbylola I hope your headache goes away. That‘s a beautiful latte! 5y
TrishB Hope it helps! My tired brain read that as broke my leg..... 5y
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Cinfhen
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Half way home! I‘m loving this book❤️Matti Friedman is a great storyteller. In every book of his, he finds the human touch to bring history to life and make it all so personal. This is the true account of 4 men( really just boys) who were spies in 1948 prior to the UN recognizing British occupied Palestine as Israel. One of the spies, is still alive today at the age of 93 and contributed heavily to this tale of espionage.

Cinfhen @arubabookwoman I think you‘re gonna really like this one!!! 5y
TrishB Safe travels the rest of the way! 5y
Melissa_J Glad you‘re enjoying the book. I‘m going to read it soon (which means within the next few months). 5y
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Cinfhen
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I‘m SOOOOOOO excited to win this book from GoodReads!!! I‘ve read all of Matti Friedman‘s investigative writing and I find his books informative, insightful and intriguing. He‘s a great reporter and storyteller. I was fortunate to participate in a Skype bookclub with Matti 3 years ago when our bookclub read his first book, The Aleppo Codex. This email has made my day ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

mreads 😁👏👏 5y
Crazeedi That's awesome! I have the Aleppo codex on my shelf to read! Congrats on winning👏🎉 5y
GatheringBooks awesome!!! book prizes are the absolute best!! 5y
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CarolynM Well done👏👏👏 5y
Cinfhen You must read Aleppo Codex @Crazeedi it‘s soooo good! And thanks for sharing in my happiness @CarolynM @GatheringBooks @mreads I haven‘t won a GoodReads Giveaway in awhile so this makes it extra special!!! I know... we are so lucky to live in a world where publishers and friends will share books for no cost- just for the pleasure of reading 💝 5y
eanderson Wow!!! That‘s awesome!!! Congrats!!! 5y
Cinfhen Thanks @eanderson I feel like you‘ve had a few giveaway wins too!!! ☘️☘️☘️ 5y
AmyG Yay!!!!! How wonderful to win a book. 🎉🎉🎉 (edited) 5y
PurpleyPumpkin Awesome, congratulations!👍🏽 5y
eanderson Yeah! I have one more coming in the mail. Getting a free book makes you feel like you won the lottery! 🤩 5y
DivineDiana 👏🏻📚👏🏻👍🏻📚 5y
Jas16 🙌🏽 5y
Cinfhen It was a lovely email to wake up to @Jas16 @DivineDiana @PurpleyPumpkin @AmyG 🥰 5y
TrishB Cool 👍🏻 5y
readordierachel 🎉🎉🎉 5y
LeahBergen Woohoo!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5y
RohitSawant Awesome! 🎉🎉 5y
Reviewsbylola 🥳🥳🥳 5y
114 likes18 comments