Wikipedia's first sentence called it “canadian-born”. Today it says “israeli-canadian author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the israeli mossad for 14 months bef”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Victor Ostrovsky (born on November 28 , 1949 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian-born, Israel-raised former Mossad Officer and author of several books on that subject. Critics argue that it is not proved that he ever was Mossad. Supporters points to the fact that the Israeli government tried to stop the publication and that the books contains sensitive information and documentation that he could not have made up himself. His works include: By Way of Deception ( 1990 ) - The making and unmaking of a Mossad Officer The Other Side of Deception ( 1995 ) - A Rogue Agent Exposes the Mossad's Secret Agenda1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17132424.
The opening as it stood in 2010 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Victor John Ostrovsky is an author and self-proclaimed former "KATSA" case officer for the Israeli Mossad (foreign intelligence service).He authored two alleged non-fiction books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception (a New York Times No. 1 bestseller in 1990), and The Other Side of Deception several years later.He also authored two novels, Lion of Judah and Black Ghosts , as well as several screenplays.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370952540.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Victor John Ostrovsky is an author and a former katsa ( case officer ) for the Israeli Mossad (foreign intelligence service). He authored two non-fiction books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception , a New York Times No. 1 bestseller in 1990, and The Other Side of Deception several years later.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668120430.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Victor John Ostrovsky (born November 28, 1949) is an author and a former katsa ( case officer ) for the Israeli Mossad .He authored two nonfiction books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception , a #1 New York Times bestseller in 1990, and The Other Side of Deception several years later.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 943047825.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Mossad case officer and author (born 1949) Victor John Ostrovsky (born 28 November 1949) is an author and a former katsa ( case officer ) for the Israeli Mossad . He authored two nonfiction books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception , a #1 New York Times bestseller in 1990, and The Other Side of Deception several years later.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177162307.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Mossad case officer and author (born 1949) Victor John Ostrovsky ( Hebrew : ויקטור אוסטרובסקי ; born 28 November 1949) is an Israeli-Canadian author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the Israeli Mossad for 14 months before his dismissal.After leaving the Mossad, Ostrovsky authored two books about his service with the Mossad: By Way of Deception , and The Other Side of Deception several years later.Former US Congressman Paul Findley and Pete McCloskey stated Ostrovsky's courage saved the life of former president George H.However, both books were criticized by Zionist journalists, scholars, and historians stating it lacked historical accuracy and contained sensationalist claims.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297520902. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “canadian-born”. Today it says “israeli-canadian author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the israeli mossad for 14 months bef”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
canadian-born
Now
israeli-canadian author and intelligence officer who was a case officer in the israeli mossad for 14 months bef
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
