Victor John Ostrovsky (; born 28 November 1949) is an Israeli-Canadian author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the Israeli Mossad for 14 months before his dismissal. After leaving the Mossad, Ostrovsky authored two books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception, and The Other Side of Deception several years later. Former US Congressman Paul Findley and Pete McCloskey stated Ostrovsky's courage saved the life of former president George H. W. Bush. However, both books were criticized by Israeli journalists, scholars, and historians stating it lacked historical accuracy and contained sensationalist claims.
Early life
Victor John Ostrovsky was born on November 28, 1949, in Edmonton, Alberta, to Jewish parents. His father was a Canadian-born Jew who served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II as a tail gunner on a Lancaster bomber, taking part in more than 20 missions over Germany. His plane was shot down over Germany, but he managed to escape and return to active service. After the war, he joined the Israeli military to fight in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
Ostrovsky moved to Israel as a child and grew up in Holon.
Career
Ostrovsky joined the Israeli Youth Brigade at 14 and quickly became an expert marksman, finishing second in a 1964 national shooting competition, with a score of 192 out of 200. At the age of 17, he joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) after a minor eye condition ended his hopes of becoming a pilot.
In the IDF, Ostrovsky was assigned to the Military Police and later the Israeli Navy. He rose to the rank of major. Ostrovsky worked in the Mossad with over a year of service, 14 months total, as a case officer. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Ostrovsky was fired from Mossad for insubordination. While he has painted many subjects, he is best known for his Metaphors of Espionage collection, inspired by his days as a spy for the Mossad.
Books
By Way of Deception
In 1990, he published By Way of Deception, a memoir of his years in the Mossad. The book quickly gained popularity, and earned nearly $2 million in royalties from the book. According to William B. Quandt in Foreign Affairs, the book contained "convincing tidbits about Mossad recruitment methods and operations," but "how much was true could not easily be determined." Former Mossad chief Isser Harel and journalist Hirsh Goodman accused Ostrovsky of fabrications in the book. Former Mossad officer Jerry Sanders, who Ostrovsky heavily criticizes in By Way of Deception, calls Ostrovsky a "failed con man" who aimed to harm Mossad and Israel. Of the Israeli spy network in the United States, David Wise wrote in his New York Times review that "both countries know that Israel has spied on the United States for years" and that from publicly known instances, the "general assertion can hardly be challenged."
Many of Ostrovsky's claims in the book as a Mossad agent have neither been verified from other sources nor been refuted, and Israeli government officials & organizations working on the Israeli government's behalf continue to state the book lacks credibility, while former US Republican Congressman Pete McCloskey states Ostrovsky's warnings to the Secret Service saved the life of former president George H.W. Bush. Ostrovsky maintains that he never placed anyone in danger because only first names or code names were used. Furthermore, Ostrovsky claims the Mossad was privately allowed to see the book before publication to ensure that lives were not placed in danger.
In 1993, he wrote The Lion of Judah, a Middle East spy novel.
Kathleen Christison praised the first half of the book as a "highly readable primer in the tricks and dirty tricks of the trade" in which Ostrovsky discusses his training and provides details of Mossad tradecraft. She is critical of the second half of the book, second-hand descriptions of alleged Mossad operations that Ostrovsky claimed to have heard about or participated in. She writes that while "the general outlines of these operations are probably accurately conveyed, there is just enough factual error to cast doubt on the details" and his descriptions of his accomplishments "seem overdrawn".
William Quandt criticized the book as suffering "from some of the same flaws [as By Way of Deception]: extensive quotations of conversations based on memory." While Quandt writes that some of the book may be true, "to sort of fact from deception is extremely difficult."