Literatureריטה כץ

Rita Katz

Rita Katz is a terrorism analyst and the co-founder of the SITE Intelligence Group, a private intelligence firm in Washington, D.C.

born 1963Co-founding SITE Intelligence GroupUndercover terrorism investigationsThe book Terrorist Hunter

Occupation: social scientist, author
Education: Tel Aviv University
Founded: SITE Institute

Rita Katz was born in 1963 in Basra

Katz was born in Basra, Iraq, in 1963 to a wealthy Jewish family. In 1968 her father was arrested on charges of spying for Israel, and the family's property was seized. The next year he was convicted and hanged in public in Baghdad.

Her mother fled with her 3 children to Iran and then to Israel, where the family settled in Bat Yam. Katz served in the IDF and studied politics, history and Middle Eastern studies at Tel Aviv University.

In 1997 she moved to Washington with her husband and children. From 1998 she worked for Steven Emerson's Investigative Project, and she attended Islamic events in disguise as an undercover investigator. Her research looked for links between American Islamic groups and foreign terrorist groups.

In 2002 she co-founded the SITE Institute with Josh Devon, which tracks terrorist networks and worked with federal investigators. In 2003 she published the book Terrorist Hunter and presented it on 60 Minutes in disguise under the name Sarah.