SHULA: Code Name the Pearl

This biography of Shulamit Kishak-Cohen, an Israeli spy known as ""the Mata Hari of the Middle East,"" has its surprises and will have its admirers--what is a Mata Hari, after all, without a few men in her life? Born in 1920, Shula was raised with her twelve siblings in Jerusalem (and, briefly Buenos Aires) where her father, successful abroad, had trouble supporting the family. At 16, Shula was sold in marriage to Joseph Kishak-Cohen, 20 years her senior, bald, mother-dominated, religious. After bearing five children in as many years, she was induced to help smuggle Jews from her new home in Beirut across the border into Israel. Along the way, beauteous, well-to-do Shula also had several propositions--one of which led to a long-standing liaison with George Anton, a married Frenchman (also with many children--they compared notes) who had an office in the SôretÉ but was actually a high officer in the Deuxième Bureau. After several assignations, she accepted his offer of aid and he became her staunchest supporter. Meanwhile she also fell in (platonically) with the gross Abu-Sa'id, a fat casino owner who was shipping Jews too--but for cash. A first misstep cost her 36 days in jail. But she returned to build an even bigger smuggling ring. That too was broken, and she spent several years in prison in Beirut. Today, she's luxuriously ensconced in Jerusalem, where she manages an antique shop, and the possessor of an award from the state. The story of a lively, hard-minded woman, told with verve and quiet humor.