Spies don't usually talk. When they do, governments tend to freak out. Back in 1990, a guy named Victor Ostrovsky decided he’d had enough of the shadows and wrote a book that basically set the diplomatic world on fire. It was called By Way of Deception, and if you’ve ever wondered why the Mossad has such a terrifying, almost mythical reputation, this is the book that started the modern obsession with it.
It wasn't just a memoir. It was a massive leak.
The Israeli government actually tried to ban the book in the United States and Canada. Imagine that for a second. A sovereign nation filing an injunction in a New York court to stop a book from hitting the shelves. Honestly, it was the best marketing they could have possibly given him. The moment the news broke that the Mossad was trying to gag Ostrovsky, every copy flew off the shelves. People wanted to know what was so dangerous that it required a legal war to suppress.
Ostrovsky wasn't some high-level director. He was a katsa, a field intelligence officer. But his account of the training, the mindset, and the operations—like the 1981 bombing of Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor—offered a glimpse into a world that was supposed to stay invisible forever.
The Mossad’s Worst Nightmare: By Way of Deception Ostrovsky and the Fallout
The title itself comes from the Mossad’s former motto: "By way of deception, thou shalt do war." It’s a bit chilling when you think about it. Most people think of intelligence work as James Bond gadgets and high-speed chases, but Ostrovsky painted a picture of something much more calculated. He described a culture that was incredibly lean, efficient, and, at times, ruthless.
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One of the most controversial parts of By Way of Deception Ostrovsky was the claim about sayanim. These are supposedly volunteer Jewish helpers living outside of Israel who provide logistical support—cars, apartments, medical care—to agents on the move. Critics and the Israeli government called Ostrovsky a liar, a fabricator, or a low-level washout who puffed up his importance. Yet, the level of detail he provided regarding the "Academy" (the Mossad training school) was so specific that even his detractors had to admit he knew things an outsider couldn't possibly know.
Was every word true? Probably not.
In the world of intelligence, truth is a flexible concept. Some experts, like Benny Morris and Ian Black, have noted that while Ostrovsky got the "flavor" of the agency right, he might have exaggerated his personal involvement in certain major operations. He was only in the Mossad for a few years. But in the world of SEO and public interest, the "truth" matters less than the impact. And the impact was a total shift in how the world viewed Israeli intelligence.
Why the 1990 Legal Battle Backfired So Hard
The legal attempt to stop the book is a classic case of the Streisand Effect before that was even a term. On September 12, 1990, the Israeli government got a temporary restraining order in Manhattan. They argued that the book would endanger the lives of agents. But the New York State Appeals Court overturned it almost immediately. They basically said, "Look, the cat is already out of the bag."
Thousands of copies had already been shipped.
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Stopping it was impossible.
What’s wild is how the book depicts the recruitment process. It’s not just about being smart. It’s about being a certain kind of "right." Ostrovsky describes psychological testing that sounds more like a cult initiation than a job interview. They want people who can lie to their own families without blinking. He tells stories of recruits being left in foreign cities with no money and told to find their way home, or being forced to talk their way into high-security buildings just for practice.
It’s gritty. It’s cynical.
The Sayanim System: Fact or Fiction?
This is usually what people search for when they look up By Way of Deception Ostrovsky. The idea of a global network of "sleepers" or helpers is catnip for conspiracy theorists, but Ostrovsky presented it as a mundane, logistical reality. He claimed that the Mossad could operate with a much smaller staff than the CIA or MI6 because they could rely on the loyalty of the diaspora.
Naturally, this caused an absolute uproar.
Jewish organizations worldwide were furious. They argued that Ostrovsky was putting a target on the back of every Jewish person in the world, making them look like potential double agents. It was a massive PR disaster.
But if you look at how modern intelligence operates now, the idea of "civilian assets" isn't exactly groundbreaking. Most agencies use them. The difference was Ostrovsky’s claim that this was a systematic, ethnic-based network. Whether you believe him or not, his descriptions of the "Safe Houses" and the "Mail Boxes" used for communication felt uncomfortably real to those in the business.
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How Ostrovsky Changed the Genre
Before this book, spy memoirs were often dry or overly heroic. Ostrovsky brought a sense of bitterness. He wasn't writing a love letter to his country; he was writing an exposé of what he saw as a runaway agency that had lost its moral compass.
- He detailed the 1982 Lebanon War.
- He talked about the assassination of Gerald Bull, the "Supergun" scientist.
- He claimed the Mossad had advance warning of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and didn't pass it on.
That last one? That’s a heavy accusation. It suggests that intelligence agencies sometimes let bad things happen to their allies to serve a broader strategic goal. The Mossad vehemently denied this, of course. But the seed of doubt was planted. That’s the power of a book like this. Once the information is out there, you can’t un-read it.
The Lasting Legacy of the "Deception" Narrative
Look, Ostrovsky moved to Canada and lived a relatively quiet life after the chaos died down, though he did write a sequel, The Other Side of Deception. But the first book remains the touchstone. It’s been over thirty years, and people are still dissecting it. Why? Because we live in an era of massive leaks—Snowden, WikiLeaks, the Panama Papers. Ostrovsky was one of the early pioneers of the "burn it all down" whistleblowing style.
Intelligence agencies today have had to adapt. They know they can't just hide behind a "no comment" anymore because guys like Ostrovsky might be taking notes.
The book is also a lesson in how not to handle a PR crisis. If the Israeli government had ignored the book, it might have been a minor bestseller in the "True Crime" section. Instead, they made it a global phenomenon.
Actionable Takeaways for the Curious Reader
If you're going to dive into the world of By Way of Deception Ostrovsky, don't just take it as gospel. Real intelligence history is rarely found in a single book.
- Read with a grain of salt. Remember that Ostrovsky was a junior officer. He saw a lot, but he didn't see everything. He had an axe to grind.
- Compare sources. Read Gideon's Spies by Gordon Thomas or Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman. These authors had access to hundreds of sources, not just one disgruntled ex-agent.
- Understand the context. The late 80s and early 90s were a time of massive transition for Israel. The Cold War was ending, and the geopolitical landscape was shifting. The book reflects the paranoia of that specific era.
- Watch the legal history. Research the "Prior Restraint" laws in the US. The legal battle over this book is actually a landmark case in First Amendment history that law students still study today.
The reality of espionage is often more boring than a thriller, but more terrifying than we'd like to admit. Ostrovsky pulled back the curtain, even if he did it with a bit of theatrical flair. You don't have to believe every anecdote to realize that the world he described—a world where deception is the primary currency—is very, very real.
The Mossad has since changed its motto to "Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). Some say it’s a more ethical stance. Others think it’s just better branding. Either way, the ghost of Ostrovsky’s revelations still haunts the halls of the King Saul Boulevard headquarters in Tel Aviv. It changed the game. It made the invisible, visible. And in the world of spies, that’s the ultimate sin.
To understand modern intelligence, you have to look at the moments when the secrecy failed. By way of deception, Ostrovsky didn't just tell a story; he forced an entire industry to look in the mirror, and they didn't like what they saw. Start by researching the 1990 New York court transcripts if you want to see just how scared a government can get over a stack of paper.