Sacha Baron Cohen stars as Mossad agent in Netflix thriller, The Spy
Real-life inspired drama from Homeland creator Gideon Raff tells incredible story of Eli Cohen, who worked undercover in Syria during the 1960s
Sacha Baron Cohen stars as a legendary Mossad agent in Netflix’s latest thriller, The Spy, which is released this week.
Eli Cohen worked undercover in Syria between 1961 and 1965 and developed close ties with the political and military hierarchy, before becoming the chief adviser to the Minister of defence.
But his cover, under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet, was eventually blown and Cohen was put on trial and executed by Syria in 1965.
The intelligence he gathered before his arrest was credited by then-prime minister Levi Eshkol as being a significant factor in Israel’s success in the Six-Day War.
Now his intriguing story has been brought to life by Homeland creator Gideon Raff, who writes and directs the six-part drama.
Baron Cohen stars alongside The Americans actor Noah Emmerich as Dan Peleg, Eli’s Mossad handler who is conflicted with guilt over the sacrifices the spy has to make and Hadar Ratzon Rotem (Homeland) as Eli’s wife, Nadia, who is left to raise their family on her own while harbouring suspicions over her husband’s cover story as a government worker.
The Spy is available on Netflix from Friday
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
