Ronen Bergman

“The command-and-control systems, the war rooms, the methods of information gathering, and the technology of the pilotless aircraft, or drones, that now serve the Americans and their allies were all, in large part, developed in Israel.”

“The way that Soviet intelligence tried to reshape the balance of power in the Middle East is essential to understand the developments that led to the outbreak of the Six-Day War.”

“Around A.D. 930, the sages in Tiberias assembled all 24 holy books and completed the writing of the codex, the first definitive Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible. From Tiberias, the codex was taken to Jerusalem.”

“Like Iran and Syria supplied Hezbollah with sophisticated anti-tank rockets - Matisse, Cornet, and other RPGs that caused great damage to Israeli tanks and Israeli infantry in 2006 - they did the same in Gaza with Hamas.”

“What the Shin Bet did in the Bus 300 affair is no less than declaring a revolt. They took the methods of manipulation, disinformation, threats, blackmail, etc. and instead of using them against the enemy, they used these tactics against their own side.”

“I have covered Israeli hostage and M.I.A. cases for more than 15 years, including the covert ways in which Israel's powerful espionage agencies operate to bring soldiers home alive or dead. Over that time, the issue has come to dominate public discourse to a degree that no one could have predicted.”

“If Israeli intelligence that has been shared with the United States - whether the National Security Agency, the C.I.A., the Defense Department, or the White House - is not safely guarded, Israel faces a major threat to its security. Cooperation with America's agencies is deeply embedded in Israel's intelligence community.”

“הגינויים לטרור, כשהם כבר באים, מושמעים בקול דק ורפה, כדי לצאת ידי חובה בעקבות לחץ בינלאומי כבד.”

“קריאה שיטתית ומעמיקה במסמכים אלה חושפת תמונה מטרידה ועגומה מאוד של מי שהיו אמורים להיות שותפיה של ישראל לתהליך השלום. במקום מדינה בדרך, מנהל ערפאת כנופיה הרואה בטרור נשק לגיטימי ורצוי, מתעלמת מטובת בני עמה, מפולגת ונגועה עד צוואר בשחיתות אישית.”

“השיקול המרכזי שמניע את הפרקליטות, השב"כ והמוסד הוא הגנה וסגירת השורות, וכדי להשיג את המטרה הזו הם נוקטים אמצעים בעייתיים, והם יכולים, בעוצמה האדירה שלהם, לשתק עבודה של עיתונאי.”

“אם כולם הולכים לפוליגרף, וכולם גם יודעים שהם הולכים לפוליגרף, ואף אחד לא רוצה לאבד את משרתו – איך תשיג מידע?”

“למעשה, אני כותב שני ספרים שונים – אחד בעברית ואחד באנגלית, כי מה שמעניין את הקהל האמריקאי שונה ממה שמעניין את הקהל הישראלי.”

“את רוב מה שאני יודע אני אפילו לא מעביר לצנזורה. אין טעם לכתוב מה שאני יודע שהיא תפסול.”

“Israel's discourse with the United States on the subject of Iran's nuclear project is more significant, and more fraught, than it is with Europe. The U.S. has made efforts to stiffen sanctions against Iran and to mobilize countries like Russia and China to apply sanctions in exchange for substantial American concessions.”

“Israel has good reason to be concerned about its intelligence making its way to Moscow: Russia is a major player in the war in Syria on Israel's northern border, where it has also become a close ally of Iran and Hezbollah, Israel's sworn enemies.”

“Every intelligence operation carries risks.”

“The heads of the K.G.B. were deeply anti-Semitic and saw in Israel and world Jewry 'a danger which is only second to the main enemy, the United States.' The K.G.B. was intent on destabilizing Israel, totally disproportionate to the country's strength or influence.”

“For years, Israeli and American intelligence agencies assumed that if Iran were to gain the ability to build a bomb, it would be a result of its relationship with Russia, which was building a nuclear reactor for Iran at a site called Bushehr and had assisted the Iranians in their missile-development program.”

“To the best of my knowledge, after the Pollard affair, Israel does not spy on the United States or against American targets.”

“For a thousand years after the Dead Sea Scrolls were written, the Jewish holy scriptures - the five parts of the Torah and 19 other holy books - were copied and passed down in the various Jewish communities from generation to generation.”