Vengeance: The Israeli Counterterrorist Team’s Deadly Hunt for Justice
George Jonas’s Vengeance tells the story of an Israeli counterterrorist team vengeance operation after the 1972 Munich massacre. Palestinian militants killed eleven Israeli athletes. Israel sent a Mossad squad to hunt them down. The team leader, called Avner, tracked targets across Europe. Critics argue about the book’s facts. Mossad insiders say some parts never happened. The story inspired Spielberg’s film Munich. It shows the cost of revenge. Men pulled triggers. Men lost themselves. The work left scars. Some targets died. Some hunters died too. The book names names like Ali Hassan Salameh. Israel denies some claims. The truth stays shadowed. This is how vengeance works. This is what vengeance costs.
About the Author
George Jonas was a Canadian journalist, poet, and author, born on June 15, 1935. He had a diverse career, writing for various newspapers and magazines. Jonas is known for his insightful analysis of political and social issues. Apart from “Vengeance,” he authored several other books, including “Reflections on Islam: Ideas, Opinions, Arguments” and “Beethoven’s Mask: Notes on My Life and Times.” Jonas’ writing style combines meticulous research with compelling storytelling, making his works highly regarded by readers and critics alike.
Vengeance Book Review
George Jonas pulls readers into the shadowy world of Mossad’s retaliation after the 1972 Munich Olympics attack. The book centers on one man’s journey – Avner, an agent tasked with leading an Israeli counterterrorist team vengeance operation against Black September. What follows is a raw account of hunting terrorists across Europe, where every decision carries life-or-death consequences.
The story begins with the chilling Munich massacre that left eleven Israeli athletes dead. Prime Minister Golda Meir’s response – later known as Operation Wrath of God – forms the backbone of this narrative. Jonas details how Avner’s team tracked targets like Ali Hassan Salameh through careful surveillance and daring operations. The writing makes you feel the tension of stakeouts in Rome, the adrenaline of close calls in Paris, and the moral weight of pulling triggers.
Questions about truth linger around this book. While Mossad veterans confirm some operations, others argue Jonas embellished details. The Israeli counterterrorist team vengeance story holds up in broad strokes, but specific dialogues and encounters likely came from the author’s imagination. What rings true is the psychological toll – the book shows how ordinary men cracked under the pressure of playing judge, jury, and executioner.
Spielberg’s Munich borrowed heavily from this book but added fictional layers. Jonas keeps his version leaner, focusing on the hunt itself rather than political context. Readers wanting hard facts should supplement with Ronen Bergman’s Rise and Kill First, which documents Mossad operations with more documentation.
Vengeance pulls no punches. It shows the blood price of justice. Some call it fiction. Some call it fact. All agree it grips like a rifle stock.
Want the raw truth? Read Vengeance today. Decide for yourself where the line falls between justice and revenge. Then ask: What would you have done in their boots?
Other Books with Similar Ideas:
- “Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service” by Michael Bar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal (Published in 2012)
- “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations” by Ronen Bergman (Published in 2018)
- “The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB” by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin (Published in 1999)
Other Books with Opposite Ideas:
- “One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate” by Tom Segev (Published in 1999)
- “The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood” by Rashid Khalidi (Published in 2006)
- “The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East” by Sandy Tolan (Published in 2006)
Movies and Videos Related to Vengeance
Munich – After the Black September capture and massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, five men are chosen to eliminate the people responsible for that fateful day.
21 Hours At Munich – Chilling account of events that shocked the world at the 20th Olympic Olympic games in Munich, West Germany, when a gang of eight Arab terrorists killed two Israeli team members and took nine others hostage. They demanded the release of over 200 Arabs held in Israeli prisons, but Israel refuses to negotiate with terrorism, leading to the eventual deaths of all of the hostages at a desperate shootout at the airport. The film is a heart-wrenching depiction of courage and heroism in the face of overwhelming odds.
One Day in September – Filmmaker Kevin MacDonald documents terrorism against Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Narrated by Michael Douglas.
Sword Of Gideon – Chronicles a Mossad team hand picked to hunt down the terrorists involved in the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes.
Vengeance Book Details
Vengeance tells a true story. Eleven Israeli athletes died at Munich in 1972. Golda Meir sent five men to kill those responsible. The men were ordinary. Their mission was not. They disappeared into shadows. The leader called himself Avner. He spoke years later. This is his account. They hunted PLO terrorists across Europe. They used guns. They used bombs. They changed names. They moved often. The PLO hunted them too. Some died. The work was hard. The cost was high. They killed their targets. The job changed them. Doubt grew. Disgust followed. The mission succeeded. The men paid. The story reads like fiction. It is not fiction. It happened. The book shows the killing. It shows the fear. It shows the weight of revenge. These men were not heroes. They were not villains. They were men given work. They did the work. The work changed them. The world calls it justice. The men knew better. They saw the truth. Revenge has a price. Someone always pays. The book does not judge. It simply tells. The telling is clean. The telling is sharp. The telling stays with you. This is how vengeance works. This is what vengeance costs. Read it. Remember it.
My Goodreads Review:
Vengeance by George Jonas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After watching the movie “Munich” (again), I delved into the backstory and discovered it was based on this book. Reading “Vengeance” provided clarity on aspects that were unclear to me while watching the movie.
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