Join us on March 13 at 2:00 p.m. for a discussion of "Spies of No Country: Israel's Secret Agents at the Birth of the Mossad" by Matti Friedman. The discussion will be facilitated by Michael Davidson (Jewish Studies, LMU).

The Sunday Jewish Book and Discussion Group is free and open to the public. This event will happen virtually in Zoom. Please RSVP by contacting Rhonda Rosen at rrosen@lmu.edu or 310-338-4584.

About the Book

Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedman’s tale of Israel’s first spies has all the tropes of an espionage novel, including duplicity, betrayal, disguise, clandestine meetings, the bluff, and the double bluff—but it’s all true.

The four spies were young, Jewish, and born in Arab countries. In 1948, at the outbreak of war in Palestine, they went undercover in Beirut, spending two years running sabotage operations and sending crucial intelligence back home. It was dangerous work. Of the dozen members of their ragtag unit, five would be caught and executed—but the remainder would emerge as the nucleus of the Mossad, Israel’s vaunted intelligence agency.

"Spies of No Country" is about the slippery identities of these spies, but it’s also about the complicated identity of Israel, a country that presents itself as Western but in fact has more citizens with Middle Eastern roots, just like the spies of this fascinating narrative.

About the William H. Hannon Library

The William H. Hannon Library fosters excellence in academic achievement through an array of distinctive services that enable learners to feed their curiosity, experience new worlds, develop their ideas, inform their decision-making, and inspire others. The library is open to the public during regular business hours. More information can be found at library.lmu.edu.