The Mossad, considered by intelligence experts to be the most ruthless spy agency in the world, doesn't take kindly to defectors, and Ostrovsky's life has been in danger ever since he went public with his first blockbuster book.

Last year Ostrovsky brought out his second explosive expose The Other Side of Deception, creating a furore in the Zionist state when excerpts were published in the largest Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot.

Over the years there have been claims and counter-claims of Mossad involvement in Australia. The Israeli secret service prefers to operate well away from the spotlight of publicity. In this exclusive interview New Dawn asked the courageous whistle blower, Victor Ostrovsky about his books, the current situation in the Middle East, the powerful U.S. Israeli lobby, and Mossad links in Australia.

New Dawn: As the author of two best selling books on the Mossad, can you provide a brief outline of what led to your efforts to expose the machinations of the Israeli secret service?

Ostrovsky: I believe in my second book The Other Side of Deception I explained what brought this action. I joined with a group of people to bring an end to the actions of the Mossad. I wanted to stop the Mossad's uses and abuses of the Israeli and outside Jewish communities. The sad thing is many people who are suffering from the Mossad's abuse of power, also support it.

New Dawn: What was the reaction of the Israeli government and the Israeli lobby worldwide to the revelations in your first book By Way of Deception?

Ostrovsky: Interesting. The Mossad desperately wanted to buy time. In response to questions in the [Israeli] Knesset, the Mossad admitted they wanted to buy time to stop the publication of By Way of Deception so they could kidnap me. Thus, even if the book were published, there would be no author available to back up, verify and promote its contents. The Mossad in kidnapping Mordechai Vanunu and putting him away in jail, stopped him from elaborating his story. The Israeli government attempted to legally stop the book from being published. However, they found it practically impossible to fulfil, what was essentially, Mossad's request. Jewish communities around the world reacted to the book as told to by the Israeli government. Actually, the organised Jewish communities have no opinion of their own - they are driven communities - told what to think. They respond accordingly. It's sad.

New Dawn: From our experience here in Australia, whenever an individual or organisation speaks out against Mossad activities or Israeli actions, they are immediately branded an 'anti-Semite', 'lunatic', or 'right-wing extremist'...

Ostrovsky: Well, this is a modus operandi. This is how the Mossad activates all its forces or groupies to stop any activities against them. This is what the ADL [Anti-Defamation League] does regularly. Of course, they are well connected with the media and a lot of media rely on their financial support.

Also a misconception is formed through the use of these terms - if somebody is against the policies of the Israeli government, it means they're anti-Israel, not an anti-Semite. An anti-Semite is an ugly person who hates a group of people because of their origin. Anti-Israel can be equated with being anti-Chinese, anti-South Africa, etc. There is a big difference here. People have the right to disagree with the policies of countries.

New Dawn: In April this year you were interviewed on ABC Radio about your latest book The Other Side of Deception. You commented that "a lot of the segments of the Australian secret service report first to Mossad."

Ostrovsky: Here we are dealing with operandi. Look at Vanunu's case. Australian intelligence agencies immediately told the Mossad about Vanunu [when Vanunu was in Australia just before his kidnapping]. Why? They admit it. It's not a secret. Australian intelligence agencies have people directly linked to the Mossad - they work with them. Usually it's people on the mid-level who will be liaising with the Mossad, and will pass everything on. The Mossad will make an intelligence request, and the Australian intelligence services will give. They view it from the perspective that Israel is a Western country, so why not help?

New Dawn: In the same interview you said that the Mossad goes into Jewish communities around the world and uses them as a resource. Is this happening in Australia?

Ostrovsky: Of course it does. It happens everywhere. But they don't like to admit it. To give an example, when an Israeli 'celebrity' comes to visit and speak at a Jewish community function or the like, you'll find all these local people checking for bombs, doing the security, etc. Where do you think they got their training? Look in my first book [By Way of Deception] to discover in detail what I'm saying.... The Mossad gives instructions to all [Israeli] lobbies over the world, so you're not unique in any way.

New Dawn: What about Mossad activities in the Asia/Pacific region?

Ostrovsky: I think it's generally friendly territory. There's no real need for the Mossad to play a major role while the situation stays as it is. They do have a lot of companies which are used for deep cover activities. The Mossad is very well entrenched in Indonesia and Japan. In fact, they're in Indonesia with the knowledge of the government, and with their permission.

New Dawn: Given the changes in the Middle East since the 1991 Gulf War, what role does the Mossad currently play in both regional and international affairs?

Ostrovsky: Put simply - doing everything it can to stop the Middle East peace process.

New Dawn: A number of fearless, 'dissident' Jewish writers such as Alfred Lilienthal, Noam Chomsky and Israel Shahak document the special relationship between Israel and the U.S. How does the Mossad influence U.S. foreign policy, particularly as it relates to the Middle East?

Ostrovsky: Money, money, money. They obtain vast sums of money from the United States, only to use it to buy politicians - and not just in the United States, it happens everywhere. What's an honest politician? One that's once bought, stays bought!

New Dawn: In your 1990 book By Way of Deception you wrote that the "Zionist dream" has degenerated into the "present day nightmare". Would you care to elaborate on this degeneration and the current state of Israeli affairs? Do you see any positive developments on the horizon?

Ostrovsky: In fact, I think there's a change for the better. We have a very courageous government in Israel, but it's really a funny situation. The former governments of Israel created a monster in the diaspora [dispersed Jews who haven't returned to the Israeli state]. The diaspora had been told that things are really bad, and they reacted accordingly in supporting, financially and otherwise, Israeli government policies.

Now, the current Israeli government says peace is possible, and the same Jewish communities who had fed them so much have turned against them. Now the diaspora communities are trying to stop Israeli government efforts for peace, so it's quite a futile situation.

[And] we have the messianics and right-wingers, especially those on the West Bank - which is occupied territory - in Israel pushing for a 'Greater Israel'. These people use the outside Jewish communities to pressure the Israeli government into give into their demands.

New Dawn: Finally, what can the individual do to help focus world public attention on the Mossad's destructive activities?