The Aaronsohns and the roots of Israeli intelligence

By Gloria Green

In response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack from Gaza, Israel created a new intelligence task force called NILI — Netzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker, Hebrew for The Eternal One of Israel Does Not Lie — involving Shin Bet internal security, military intelligence, and Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency. Its mission was, and continues to be, to track down and kill or capture those responsible for the massacre — from direct attackers to senior planners — while also preventing future attacks.

More than a century earlier, another intelligence network also called NILI operated fr...