The little-known story of a daring Mossad operation and the holiday resort run by spies.
The true story that inspired the Netflix film The Red Sea Diving Resort.
'Secret missions, brazen deceptions and thrilling, clandestine operations - Red Sea Spies has it all. But it has something more important, too - a genuine human mission that made a difference.' - David Hoffman, author of The Billion Dollar Spy
In the early 1980s on a remote part of the Sudanese coast, a new luxury holiday resort opened for business. Catering for divers, it attracted guests from around the world. Little did the holidaymakers know that the staff were undercover spies, working for the Mossad - the Israeli secret service.
Providing a front for covert night-time activities, the holiday village allowed the agents to carry out an operation unlike any seen before. What began with one cryptic message pleading for help, turned into the secret evacuation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews who had been languishing in refugee camps, and the spiriting of them to Israel.
Written in collaboration with operatives involved in the mission, endorsed as the definitive account and including an afterword from the commander who went on to become the head of the Mossad, this is the complete, never-before-heard, gripping tale of a top-secret and often hazardous operation.
About the Author
Raffi Berg is the Middle East editor of the BBC News website, and has extensive experience reporting on Israel and the wider region. His article scratching the surface of this story was the most-read original feature in the history of the site, with more than 7 million readers to date.
Industry Reviews
'An amazing story of the dogged behind-the-scenes workings of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency, from the late 1970s to the '90s ... From the first secret airlift until 1991, writes the author, who includes helpful maps and a list of the significant characters, 28,695 Ethiopian Jews were transported to Israel, "about 80 percent of their entire community." Berg's account of the operation - remarkable due to its duration, execution, and success - reads like a spy novel.'
Kirkus
'[An] outstanding debut ... Berg's moving, well-researched book stands as the definitive account of this heroic rescue mission. It deserves a wide readership.'
Publishers Weekly
'A compelling portrayal ... providing a startling amount of detail of the day-to-day activities - putting the reader right there in the sand with the Mossad agents.'
Jewish Chronicle
'Red Sea Spies is what really happened. There is none of the Hollywood colouring-in, and yet the book is all the more vivid for it ... part thriller, part dark comedy, all true ... Berg brings out the native drama in an improbable story of a clandestine homecoming.'
The Spectator
'A tense and extraordinary story.'
Choice
