Israel's Edge: The Story of The IDF's Most Elite Unit - Talpiot (Gefen Publishing)

ISRAEL’S EDGE: THE STORY OF THE IDF’S MOST ELITE UNIT - TALPIOT written by Jason Gewirtz and published by Gefen Publishing House. IDF is the Israel Defense Force Talpiot is a Hebrew word meaning ‘tall turrets’ and/or ‘sturdy strongholds’ MAFAT is the acronym for Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure established in the early 1980s by Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and used as the ‘umbrella’ for all things R&D in the Israeli Military The Yom Kippur War (October 1973) caught Israel a bit off guard. There was much soul-searching among military and government leaders, as well as fear and anxiety. “How did this fiasco happen?” Israel asked itself. In the years before the war, Israel was engaged in constant war and military preparedness. Also, many Arab nations were receiving mass shipments of arms from the Soviet Union. There were also new weapons and technology being used against Israel. Israel was caught ‘napping’, so to speak. Two professors at Hebrew University, Professor Shaul Yatziv and Professor Felix Dothan, wanted to give Israel its edge back. Their idea or goal was to rearm Israel with the best and the brightest young minds who would work exclusively on research and development for the IDF. It took several years to get the government and especially the IDF behind their idea. In 1977, Menachem Begin became Prime Minister and Rafael Eitan was appointed chief of staff. They were both committed to change and an elite educated unit in the army. Talpiot was finally born. Many organizational details had to be worked out - the recruitment process; the admissions process; curriculum; teachers; examinations; program structure and the partnership and the cooperation of the IDF and MAFAT. The first recruiting began for Talpiot and the program was developed. The first Talpiot class reported in the summer of 1979. The rest is history. This book is very interesting reading. The access points were very helpful - a good cover picture; an introduction; a table of contents (20 chapters); a timeline (which I found very helpful); a salute from the author and acknowledgements. I especially liked chapter 20: The Future; the timeline; many comments about the Israeli educational system and education, in general; examples of the Talpiot graduate network; all the many accomplishments of the Talpiot participants; Unit 8200 and the many innovations that developed from Professor Yatziv and Professor Dothan’s original plan. ISRAEL’S EDGE is very well-written, thoroughly researched and an interesting and educational read. I would heartily recommend this book

Good read on the realty of the situation. One would think that similar projects occur in other countries. Israel faces some rather austere choices on geography and neighbors and various other elements as to their existence. Going to be a struggle until the end of time...

A remarkable book showcasing the Jewish People's amazing Gifts from God. Awesome Intelligence and brilliance from the Creator the God of Israel to his Children, the Jewish People. The students selected for the Talpiot program possess a rare and unique level of intelligence and talent. Taught by the best teachers in Israel, these young students after graduating this elite unit go and create amazing companies that create many jobs that helps the Israeli economy. They are tasked by the Israeli Army to invent weapons and technology especially in the intelligence field that no other country has. As a result, Israel is marching very quickly to becoming a super power, with a world wide reach, a small country that leads the world into unknown paths that humanity has never crossed yet. Pioneering such a level of intelligence that many countries can only dream of. Its no wonder many people are jealous because of Israel's success, notwithstanding Israel's Arab enemies. The irony is that the more they push the Jews into the corner the more the Jews become stronger, smarter, and talented, and Israel finds these strengths precisely because it is cornered and it has to fend for itself by utilizing the amazing gifts that its people have. If Israel was left alone and no one would have cared about it just like some Island in the middle of the Ocean with no enemies, then all these awesome inventions wouldn't even come to reality, its when a diamond is pressed that its shines so brightly. So the dumb enemies of the Jewish People are in a very interesting way making the Jewish People even more stronger and even more intelligent, that is how dumb and stupid the enemies of Israel are. May God Bless and Continue to Bless Israel and the Jewish People forever.

A revealing read about the inner workings of Israel's academic Underground. Israel has always been big on education and this story is a revelation into the creative ways in which this little Nation manages to stay ahead of the Curve. This is a good read for anyone interested in Thinking Out of the Box and learning something new about a very old Nation. God is with them. And so will he always be.

An outstanding book that is well worth buying and reading!

An extraordinary informative study on one of the most effective programs in any defense forces round the world. Whoever can relate to innovation, creativity and ingenuity may find this lecture individualy invigorating.

This book was phenomenal! I found it to be extremely interesting, well-written, and thoroughly researched. Mr. Gewirtz is an outstanding writer, journalist, and thinker, and I am so pleased to have read his incredible take on Talpiot, a topic that I knew nothing about and now find to be exceptionally fascinating and important. Mr. Gewirtz combines a deep knowledge of Middle East politics and history with a gift for story-telling. Truly one of the best non fiction books that I have read in recent years.

If you live in Israel and are a native English speaker, it's a good bet that your son or daughter will want to join an elite unit in the IDF. TALPIOT, as described in this book, is the best of the best. Not only does it provide a top notch education for its recruits, it installs in them the ability to think for themselves and to question everything. A Talpiot graduate has a leg up on all others to join whatever special unit they decide on. In addition, the graduates have their own special network, which is invaluable for succeeding both in the IDF and afterwards. If you are considering Aliyah and want to encourage your bright, motivated teenager who's concerned about the sky-high costs of a college education in the US, reading ISRAEL's EDGE may provide the motivation needed. This book explains what was mentioned in Start-Up Nation: the huge edge the IDF provides Israeli society..

it's a great book. Tell us about the origins and the objective of Talpiot's soldiers A lot of details...I believe that make it less personal (names) and giving more examples it will be better Congrats

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well written, informative, descriptive and sensible. Felt as if I was on a parallel journey albeit different reasons, so very meaningful. Glad to read that Aryeh's life has progressed well since then,

Book has too many important aspects in it. Like from Patriots to visionaries, from successful people to their respective journey and a wonderful course and it's journey. Thank you.,

This is an exceptional book for anyone interested in the Middle East, military, intelligence, politics or anything around long-term planning to see how Israel created a programme that has lead to a qualitative advantage over their rivals in the Middle East. We often hear about the brawns in the military and the special forces soldiers who execute pin-point raids. Talpiot is the Special Forces for the brains: people who are molded over years to break through silo thinking and become expert "problem solvers". Across a range of fields, their ability to look at a problem and chip away until a solution is arrived can be applied in any work environment. The background of the programme and the people who have come through it gives a reader an understanding that behind all the bravado are some seriously smart people (men and women). The book itself is very well written and keeps the attention of the reader. This is important since we are talking about a programme where the warriors out-think rather than just out-kill their opponents. At no stage did I get bored reading this book or identify where the author has made grammatical or other errors. I cannot rate this highly enough.

I found the book very interesting & well worth the read. On saying that by the mere nature of the Secret Service related to in the content of this book it was understandably limited in what it could disclose regarding it's continuing military war against terrorism and the threat from the neighbouring Arab Nations. However I wish Israel the very best and hope that they continue to maintain the high level of work outline in this book in both the military and civilian fields. I would recommend this book.