Atir, Yiftach Reicher, (The English Teacher [transl. by Philip Simpson, pb, Penguin Books, 2016] 978-0143129189 [hc, Center Point Publishing – LARGE PRINT, 2017] 978-1683243021 [See related film] [Rachel Goldschmitt, a retired Mossad operative of British origin, empties her bank account and vanishes after attending her father’s funeral in London. Fearing she may be unstable or compromised, the Mossad assigns her former handler and secret admirer, Ehud, to track her down. As Ehud retraces her career, the novel shifts between the present-day hunt and flashbacks of Rachel’s decade-long undercover assignment in an Arab capital (likely Amman or Damascus). There, she lived as an unassuming English teacher, performing daring missions and assassinations by night. The central narrative arc focuses on Rachel’s forbidden love for Rashid, a Middle Eastern man she met while undercover. Her real identity and her assumed one began to blur, eventually leading to the regret and remorse that triggered her disappearance. The novel examines the “controlled schizophrenia” required to maintain a cover and how constant lying erodes an operative’s true sense of self. It highlights the morally dubious deeds operatives perform and the ethical dilemmas faced by handlers who must exploit the people they are responsible for protecting. The book was heavily vetted and censored by Israeli military and civilian committees before its release to ensure no classified methods were exposed. – Google/AI]
Israel · Fiction author
Yiftach Reicher Atir
Yiftach Reicher Atir (born 1949 on Kibbutz Shoval, now living in Tel Aviv) - As a young commando officer, he participated in notable missions, including the 1976 operation to liberate the Israeli captives at Entebbe airport. He spent much of his career in military intelligence before retiring with the rank of Brigadier General. He is best known internationally for his thriller, The English Teacher, but has also written several other books, both fiction and non-fiction, not yet translated.