Raffi Berg
Red Sea Spies
Summary
Raffi Berg and Dani Limor discuss Berg’s book about a Mossad operation in the early 1980s at a Sudanese resort that served as a cover for evacuating Ethiopian Jews. Limor, a former Mossad operative involved in the mission, shares insights on bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel and the challenges faced due to closed borders and severed relations with Ethiopia. The discussion highlights the complex circumstances surrounding the mission and the parallels between the operation and the story of the Exodus during Passover.
Raffi Berg
Raffi Berg is the Middle East editor of the BBC News website. A journalist for 30 years, he has a particular interest in events in Israel, from where he has reported extensively in times of war and peace. He graduated in modern and medieval history from the London School of Economics and was a student of Jewish and Israel studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem prior to his career in radio, television, and digital journalism. Raffi is based in London, where he lives with his family.
Dani Limor
Dani Limor served 25 years in the Mossad, with activities including leading the secret operation which evacuated Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel at the command of Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Before joining the Mossad, he was an officer in the Israeli paratroopers, and he has fought in four of Israel’s wars. He is a founder of the Nachshon School for Social Leadership—a pre-military academy which equips young people with the skills to better Israeli society—and is currently mapping emerging Jewish communities around the world for the Ministry of the Diaspora.