The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa

Prior to the Six-Day War, Israel was a darling of the international left, vocally opposed to apartheid and devoted to building alliances with black leaders in newly independent African nations. South Africa, for its part, was controlled by a regime of Afrikaner nationalists who had enthusiastically supported Hitler during World War II. But after Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories in 1967, the country found itself estranged from former allies and threatened anew by old enemies. As both states became international pariahs, a covert--and lucrative--military relationship blossomed between these seemingly unlikely allies.

Based on extensive archival research and exclusive interviews with former generals and high-level government officials in both countries, The Unspoken Alliance tells a troubling story of Cold War paranoia, moral compromises, and startling secrets.


About the Author

Sasha Polakow-Suransky is an editor at The New York Times op-ed page. He was a senior editor at Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2011 and holds a doctorate in modern history from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar from 2003 to 2006. His writing has appeared in The American Prospect, The Boston Globe, The International Herald Tribune, The New Republic, and Newsweek. He lives in Brooklyn.