I have not seen the controversial documentary, NAZA, in which Israel is accused by Israeli military personnel of war crimes in Gaza. Still, I’ve written three books on the Israeli military over the years, interviewing more than 400 combatants along the way. Almost all were “salt of the earth” and credible, but that didn’t necessarily mean that their testimony was reliable. Some were carried away by the storytelling, filling in gaps on their own; some exaggerated their role; many were confused regarding the details. Here and there, someone was just not telling the truth.

I made it a policy to interview at least two witnesses to any substantial story, more if possible. Often there were no other witnesses because they had been killed or I couldn’t locate them. In such cases, I would make my own assessment about the credibility of the interviewee. I cannot be sure that I was always right.

After the Six-Day War, while writing The Battle for Jerusalem, I interviewed an officer who was one of the first to reach the Western Wall after the break-in to the Old City. We’ll call him X. There were then low stone walls on the approaches to the Wall. At one point, when X was alone, he saw something chiseled into a wall. It was Hebrew. “If........

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