Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel

Spies of No Country by Matti Friedman tells a remarkable story of the founding of the State of Israel through the lens of four men in the fledgling state’s Arab Section. These four men were spies tasked with protecting the Jewish homeland from external threats, particularly those that came from Arab countries. The book tells their stories in a way that makes the reader empathize with Israel and the Jews and understand why Israel was a much-needed homeland for the Jewish people. The four men were all Jews born in the Middle East. As a result, Arabic was their native language, which made it easier for them to embed themselves in the Arab world and become Arabs. The book is a fascinating account of how these men helped create Israel and protect her from outside threats.

Spies of No Country is a fairly short book–around 240 pages. Yet in these pages, there is a wealth of information and various tidbits that make it so worthwhile to read. With so much anti-Israel bias currently going on, this book serves as a truthful and unbiased account of the founding of the State of Israel. I would definitely recommend Spies of No Country to anybody who wants to learn more about Israel and Zionism in general.