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Incoming transmission.

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Welcome. This is

0:07

true spies. The

0:09

podcast that takes you deep inside

0:12

the greatest secret missions of all

0:14

time. Week by

0:16

week, you'll hear the true stories behind

0:18

the operation. That have shaped the world

0:20

we live in. Who spies?

0:23

You'll meet the people who live life

0:25

undercover. What

0:28

do they know? What are their

0:30

skills? And what would you

0:32

do in their position?

0:35

This is true spies. Suddenly,

0:38

we were surrounded by many

0:40

soldiers, don't know, maybe thirty,

0:42

forty, and Someone

0:45

hit me with the the rifle

0:47

on my hand. That was a bit fuzzy.

0:50

My doctor inclines himself

0:53

towards me and he whispers me in

0:55

my

0:56

ear. Shall we take them on?

0:58

I'm Sofia DiMartina, and this

1:01

is True spies from spy escape

1:03

studios.

1:06

Exit us. Part three. Inventure,

1:09

a la carte. March

1:16

nineteen eighty two, Mossad

1:20

officer, Danny Lemour, and his

1:22

team are evacuating scores

1:24

of Ethiopian Jews from the coast.

1:27

In the middle of the operation, a

1:29

company of Sudanese soldiers ambushed

1:32

the

1:32

beach. And

1:33

they shouted in Arabic, stop where we

1:35

will kill you. The

1:38

last of the transport dengue is

1:40

still leaving the shore. The

1:42

entire mission is about to be exposed,

1:45

leaving Danny and his crew facing

1:47

life in Sudanese prison as

1:49

a best case scenario.

1:51

One of the soldiers, he started running

1:53

towards the booth. It is the electrical

1:56

ready to shoot. He came to the

1:58

shore, to the water edge. The

2:01

boat was to our right

2:03

and then he saw the

2:05

other boats. We were still

2:07

not far away from the shore and you could

2:09

see the fob

2:11

the engines made. So

2:14

before I could do anything, it's

2:16

short.

2:20

In this, the final part

2:22

of True Spies in-depth look at

2:24

Operation Brothers will hear

2:27

how the Mossad conducted a mission

2:29

unparalleled in the agency's

2:31

history. The story I'm telling you

2:33

is a real Zionist James Bond

2:35

story. It's unique in

2:37

the history of the intelligence

2:40

world because it's the first time

2:43

I believe in the history of Africa

2:45

that Europe peanuts took

2:48

out Africans out of Africa not

2:50

to them but to free

2:52

them. We'll hear from the agents

2:54

that were there.

2:55

One morning, I'm swimming

2:58

back and I raised my head

3:00

and I saw baby twenty soldiers

3:02

with

3:02

guns. So I told

3:05

myself, oh my god. That's it.

3:08

I'm exposed.

3:10

And from the Jews that they rescued.

3:12

Mister Muslim country is a very

3:15

fun arctic Muslim country. He

3:17

don't imagine if they hear you

3:19

are a Jew, They can kill you.

3:21

That's all.

3:27

Navy hot resort. The Sinai

3:29

Peninsula, nineteen eighty one.

3:32

Propping up the bar is the retreat

3:34

diving instructor, Ruby Vaterba.

3:37

Nicknamed Berenbauer after

3:39

one of the world's best paid soccer players.

3:43

carved out a reputation as one of

3:45

the region's most successful divers.

3:48

Overlooking the gulf of Aqaba the

3:51

money and the dream is

3:53

coming to an end. Israeli

3:56

prime minister, Manakam Begum,

3:58

has agreed to hand the Sinai peninsula

4:01

back to

4:01

Egypt. Ruby and his

4:03

colleagues are out. We

4:07

already had the date of

4:09

evacuation design night. April

4:11

eighty two was the last day

4:13

that we had to

4:14

leave. Unknown to him

4:17

however. One of Bacon's other

4:19

highly classified projects is

4:21

about to come knocking. Looking

4:24

around the bar, Robbie spots

4:26

two

4:26

people, he knows, sat

4:28

with them as a third

4:30

man. The

4:31

two men motion Ruby over to their

4:34

table and introduced the third.

4:36

And he spoke to me in

4:38

Italian because I'm Italian in the

4:40

region.

4:41

The man says he's from the Jewish

4:43

agency. And told me

4:45

that they want to smuggle

4:47

some Jews from Africa. I

4:49

didn't say when and where. And

4:52

they will need my expertise

4:55

for two weeks. I'm a diving

4:57

instructor and this is involved

5:01

with transferring some

5:04

brothers from the beach to

5:06

a boat by

5:07

Dingus. So

5:09

he asked me if I agree.

5:11

Sure, Ruby responds. I'll

5:14

do

5:14

it. The man then introduces

5:16

himself. I'm

5:18

Danny Lemont, he

5:20

says.

5:22

When he mentioned Jews

5:24

from Africa, immediately I

5:27

connected a friend of

5:29

mine wrote the book Black Brothers.

5:31

So I wrote the book and I

5:33

said, Danny, you mean this?

5:36

Examining the book, Danny laughs.

5:39

Operation Brothers. That's what

5:41

we'll call the

5:42

mission. He says, before

5:44

telling Ruby someone will be in touch.

5:47

Nobody talked about Mossad anything,

5:51

but I knew Rubi

5:53

wasn't just another diving instructor. He

5:56

was an ex commando in the Shire

5:58

Tet thirteen, Israel's elite

6:00

navy unit. That's

6:02

how he recognized the two men in the

6:04

bar. They too were

6:06

ex antithetic thirteen. Danny

6:09

knew these were the caliber of people

6:11

he

6:11

needed. The common denominator

6:13

was they all had the capacity

6:16

to operate under cover

6:18

in an enemy country with all that

6:20

this

6:20

means. You know, the mentality

6:23

and the the guts to do

6:25

whatever was needed. Shortly

6:27

after, Ruby and two other instructors

6:30

he recommended, Ointelle Aviv

6:32

to be briefed.

6:33

And they asked us to write in

6:35

English a short

6:38

Greek Lumbota CV. So

6:40

I wrote I was born

6:42

and raised in Kaiger Bay,

6:45

KGB.

6:46

Minutes after handing the foreman,

6:48

an official rushed over to Ruby.

6:51

What is this KGB, his

6:53

shouts. Its kibots give

6:55

out Brenna. Brebi replies,

6:57

the name of his local

6:58

kibats, a kind of collective

7:01

community unique to Israel.

7:03

That this is the last time you

7:06

make jokes with us. Ruby

7:08

and the others are then put through a series

7:10

of examinations. Psychoanalysis,

7:14

aptitude tests, exercise

7:16

simulations. Looking

7:18

at their results, the examiner

7:20

tells Dani None of them are

7:22

right for the job. They're

7:24

too unpredictable, individualistic,

7:27

strong minded.

7:28

That's exactly what I want. Danny

7:31

replies. So I

7:33

was accepted. Danny gave us a

7:35

small briefing. He said there

7:37

is abandoned Italian holiday

7:39

village. And this will be

7:41

our base for the next

7:43

two weeks.

7:44

Ruby and the other diving instructors are

7:47

given basic cover stories and

7:49

aliases. A Mossad agent

7:51

checks their belongings for anything with

7:53

Hebrew markings. The

7:55

agent then tells them, you are

7:57

not Israelis anymore. Armed

8:01

with fake passports, the team

8:03

heads to Sudan. As does

8:05

their boss, Fri

8:06

Palavi. One of the

8:08

most senior officials in the Mossad

8:11

Almost ran

8:14

over a camel. Danny,

8:16

meanwhile, remained field commander

8:18

while also becoming a Mossad department

8:20

head. A dual role unprecedented

8:23

in the history of the agents Certain

8:27

pockets of HQ were against

8:29

running a diving resort as a cover

8:31

story, however, sending a team

8:33

into an enemy country was one thing.

8:35

They argued. Having them

8:37

interact with large numbers of

8:39

unknown, unvetted people

8:41

as holiday resort personnel

8:44

was quite another. They

8:46

would likely not return and

8:48

less in a body bag.

8:50

But Danny stood up to his

8:53

superiors.

8:54

When someone wants to find a

8:56

reason not to do, You're

8:58

one with one. Always in

9:00

this profession especially. The

9:03

Jews needed urgent help,

9:05

he said. The camps were

9:07

rife with disease. Hundreds

9:09

had already died. While

9:11

rumors were spreading to the Sudanese police that

9:13

many were disappearing in the middle of the night.

9:16

The clock was

9:17

ticking. More and more people

9:19

were arriving to the camps,

9:21

we needed to upgrade

9:23

the operation. Eventually,

9:26

Danny Convinces headquarters to let

9:28

him use the resort. Nonetheless,

9:31

Helleve wanted to check it out for himself.

9:33

On route from

9:35

Cartune to the coast, some nine hundred

9:37

kilometers

9:37

away, Danny takes him and

9:40

the rest of the team to see G'dara

9:42

of camp. And

9:44

we saw the condition that they are

9:46

leaving the refugees. Terrible

9:48

condition. So this was to

9:50

get us some

9:51

ambition, you know, to do

9:53

the job.

9:54

Eventually, the crew reached the coast

9:57

and set eyes on the resort.

9:59

Was five o'clock in the morning

10:02

just sunrise, you know. And

10:04

we went up the hill and I

10:06

saw this village and two

10:09

Lagoon's beautiful.

10:11

The moment I saw this beautiful

10:15

deserted village. I

10:17

told to myself I would like to

10:19

stay here as long

10:21

as possible.

10:22

But there's little time to relax.

10:25

After one night, f prime

10:27

Helavy, the ultimate head of the

10:29

operation, was satisfied. Wish the

10:31

team luck and returned to Israel.

10:34

The first seaborne evacuation

10:36

was agreed,

10:36

and it

10:37

was only two weeks

10:39

away. The

10:41

team rigged the resort with communications

10:43

and fitted a new generator,

10:46

while Ruby chartered a route around

10:48

the reef and out of the nearby cove that would

10:50

be the evacuation

10:51

point. We organize ourselves,

10:53

we get the fuel, the

10:56

boats, everything was

10:57

ready. Here was the

10:59

plan. Danny

11:02

Ruby and the rest of the team would

11:04

drive nine hundred kilometers from the

11:06

resort inland to Gudara's

11:09

camp. There, they would

11:11

rendezvous with the committee man

11:13

hide the Ethiopian Jews and the

11:15

lorries and make the return

11:17

journey all at

11:19

night. Kids, old

11:22

people, pressed like sir

11:24

Dean's, standing, not

11:26

sitting. No

11:26

toilet, no drinking, nothing.

11:29

In the day, the Conifer would

11:31

retreat to a designated body

11:33

halfway. Waiting

11:35

several kilometers offshore was a

11:37

large Israeli military freighter.

11:40

The Bat Galim. Israeli

11:42

navy seals would launch

11:44

fully armed zodiac dengue to

11:46

pick up the Jews from the shoreline.

11:48

Bringing them back to the main ship over

11:51

several trips. There were risks at

11:53

every step.

11:54

On the way down by the way, we saw that

11:56

there are ten block

11:59

roads.

12:00

I mean, really people with

12:02

guns standing, checking, and

12:05

the sea was often no less dangerous.

12:08

Sudanese patrol ships scoured the

12:10

coast at night, hunting

12:12

for smugglers and pirates. Exposure

12:15

at any point risked not just

12:17

the lives of everyone involved,

12:20

but all so threatened to spark a

12:22

major international incident.

12:25

All at a time when the Israeli prime

12:27

minister, Menacom Began, was

12:29

trying to improve ties

12:31

with the Arab world.

12:32

The signing of the peace treaty between

12:35

Egypt and Israel is only

12:37

the beginning. Tomorrow,

12:40

With God's help, we

12:42

shall lay the cornerstone.

12:46

And on it, In

12:48

the days and months and tears

12:50

to come, we shall

12:52

build the edifice of peace.

12:55

If this gets exposed

12:58

that the missile is doing

13:00

plant design operation in our

13:02

country. This will create a lot of

13:04

problems with all kind of efforts

13:06

that are being conducted to

13:09

develop the relations with other countries.

13:11

You have to calculate all the

13:14

time the risks that you are taking.

13:17

Content with the risks, however, on the

13:20

night of November twenty first

13:22

nineteen eighty one, the team part of the

13:24

resort and headed for Pederof

13:26

Camp. Luckily,

13:29

the roadblocks don't prove a

13:31

problem. Each driver says

13:33

they're traveling from the resort to

13:35

collect supplies. He gave him

13:37

some freebies, I don't

13:39

know, some cigarettes, some drinks.

13:42

We just waved to them

13:45

and they opened the barriers without

13:47

any problem. Once arriving

13:49

at a quarry near the camp, The

13:51

committee men of Ethiopian Jews

13:53

organizing the groups

13:54

appear. Tekele

13:56

Macounen was one of them So

13:58

a lot of camouflage, a lot of covering,

14:00

a lot of covering alloys.

14:03

The youngsters are the the

14:05

last ones to come, but all

14:07

their elders. This is the children's, the pregnant

14:09

woman who have two pings them.

14:11

Ruby and the team load them

14:12

in. They

14:13

were very quiet and we

14:16

hit the road. Arriving

14:18

at the wadi halfway back to the

14:20

post. The convoy hides out for

14:22

the day. Where most of the teams see the

14:24

Jews in daylight for the first

14:26

time.

14:27

I was a bit shocked

14:29

because they looked very poor

14:31

condition and frightened. We

14:34

didn't communicate. We couldn't speak

14:36

Amhari or Swahili. A

14:38

little bit English, nothing in Hebrew.

14:41

But we felt that we are,

14:43

you know, we are doing something

14:45

important. We are actually saving

14:47

them from misery to the promised

14:49

land.

14:50

Upon opening the glory, some of the

14:52

Jews think they have already reached

14:54

Israel.

14:55

They just kissed the ground because

14:58

they thought this is the end of the

15:00

journey. They didn't know that

15:02

we still have to go with 33 boat

15:04

and everything.

15:04

Setting off again that night, the

15:07

convoy arrives at the beach.

15:09

Several camouflage dengue

15:11

appear out of the darkness. Most

15:13

of the Ethiopian Jews had never

15:15

seen the sea before, not alone

15:17

been on a boat, but it's not

15:20

only them that are shocked by the

15:22

scene. One of the

15:24

commandos confusions strewn

15:26

across his face turns to Ruby

15:28

and

15:28

says, they're black. Do

15:30

you really think they are Jewish? So

15:33

I loved it and I said, what do you care?

15:37

With the sea channel to the back

15:40

Gillum clear, the commandos

15:42

ferry their cargo back to the

15:44

freighter. Once

15:46

there, they're hoisted on deck. On

15:48

route to the promised land.

15:51

Over the next forty eight hours, the

15:53

exercise is repeated without

15:55

a hitch with another load

15:57

of Ethiopian Jews delivered to

15:59

the freighter. By

16:01

daybreak, the back Gillim was

16:03

already far out at sea. A

16:05

few days later, it arrived at Charmele

16:08

Shake and still in Israeli

16:10

hands untouched. Some

16:15

two hundred and sixty four Ethiopian

16:18

Jews disembarked to a rapturous

16:21

from several high ranking Israeli

16:23

military and intelligence officials.

16:25

The head of the Mossad coffee

16:28

was there

16:28

himself. The plan

16:31

had worked. I was in

16:33

charge of the radio communication, sending

16:35

messages, decipher messages

16:37

and I got a message from the prime minister

16:39

through a prime levy. The prime

16:42

minister is very happy and gives

16:44

you all his congratulations.

16:46

He will meet you when you come

16:48

home. For Danny's team,

16:50

the two week mission was over.

16:53

But Ruby, had other

16:54

ideas. At this

16:57

moment, I looked at Danny and

16:59

I took him aside, nobody will

17:01

hear and I told him Danny I would

17:03

like to stay. What?

17:05

Dani says, are you crazy? There's

17:07

no water? No electricity? No

17:09

food? Nothing. And Dani

17:12

said, I cannot get permission for

17:14

this I said you don't need to. It's just between

17:16

you and

17:16

me. Danny

17:17

agrees and doesn't

17:20

tell headquarters.

17:21

The other guys looked

17:24

at me and thought, well,

17:26

well, well, he's out

17:28

of his

17:29

mind. But Danny also saw

17:31

an opportunity in keeping Ruby

17:33

in Sudan. Back in

17:35

the military barracks, when he

17:37

first operated with Faraday around

17:40

Gdara's

17:40

camp, Danny had met the head of the

17:43

secret police. A

17:45

man by the name of

17:46

Mohammed. I want to keep this

17:49

relationship alive. And doing

17:51

so is becoming crucial Four

17:53

in his last meeting with

17:55

Mohammed, the conversation had taken

17:57

an unusual

17:58

turn. I brought with me a

18:01

bottle of the best cognac So he drank

18:03

and he drank a lot. Mohammed

18:05

then

18:05

asked Danny, tell me,

18:07

have you

18:08

known Jews? Said, of

18:11

course, Jews

18:12

are everywhere. What are they

18:14

like the Jews? Mohammed

18:17

replies. You said, like

18:19

any other

18:19

people, you know, they are they are bad, they are good,

18:21

they are ugly, they are beautiful.

18:25

Do you know there

18:27

are black

18:29

Jews? Mohammed then

18:31

asked. What? You must

18:33

be mistaken. Yes. There

18:36

are, Mohammed says, before

18:38

adding. They come from Ethiopia.

18:40

And they come into camps and they

18:43

disappear because some Zionists

18:45

come here and they taken because they

18:47

need cannon fodder to

18:49

their

18:49

army. Danny starts the thing. He's been burned,

18:52

that Mohammed knew it was him.

18:54

I

18:54

was expecting any time at Lord to open

18:56

and, you know,

18:58

No. You just wanted to know if I knew.

19:00

And when I said, I don't.

19:02

It says, what? You should know.

19:04

But then, Mohammed said

19:07

something else. And

19:08

we will

19:08

find these people taking them

19:11

out. Maintaining his cover, Danny

19:13

thanked Mohammed for his hospitality

19:15

and left. But

19:17

now he knew that cutting ties would

19:19

attract suspicion. And more

19:21

than that, Mohammed had even

19:23

introduced Danny to his

19:25

brother. The head of the Sudanese navy himself,

19:28

General Youssef. So

19:31

Danny takes Ruby

19:32

to meet him. He had developed a

19:35

relationship with the former owners of

19:37

the resort, the ones who

19:39

built

19:39

it.

19:40

The general tells

19:40

them that every Thursday, the

19:43

previous owners had brought him fresh

19:45

lobster. Now the lobsters

19:46

in that area, believe me,

19:49

They look like super lobsters, you know. If

19:51

you

19:51

bring me lobster every Thursday,

19:54

then maybe I can help you in

19:56

return. The general adds. Knowing

19:59

that the general would now be on-site,

20:01

Danny and Ruby agreed.

20:03

With the relationship maintained,

20:06

Danny left for Israel to update

20:08

HQ and plan another evacuation.

20:10

Ruby stayed at the

20:12

resort where with the help of several

20:15

Sudanese workers, he renovated everything,

20:17

installing electricity, water,

20:19

and beds. Back in

20:21

Israel, Danny hired another

20:24

member to the team. A mossad agent

20:26

called Gads Shimron. He

20:28

found me in the corridors of the headquarters

20:30

of the Mossad. It's

20:32

I know you have operational background. You

20:34

you speak Arabic. You have

20:37

some marine background. You

20:39

are perfect for this

20:40

mission. I need you.

20:42

With headquarters

20:44

now satisfied with the operation,

20:46

the date was set for another

20:49

of calculation. The back Gillum's

20:51

capacity was also

20:52

doubled, now able to accommodate over

20:54

four hundred rescued Jews.

20:57

In early nineteen

21:00

eighty two, Danny, GAD, and the

21:02

rest of the team returned

21:05

to Sudan. We specifically

21:08

plan to do it on

21:10

Friday, and when it is very

21:12

dark, very little moon dark,

21:14

Friday. So actually, we

21:17

invented Black Friday.

21:18

Several days after arriving at the

21:21

resort, the team convoyed to

21:23

a desert a native point

21:25

outside

21:25

Gudaurav. The second

21:28

evacuation is live.

21:30

We have this very long journey, nine hundred

21:33

kilometers. Upon arriving at

21:35

the rendezvous point, some fifteen

21:37

kilometers away from the The

21:40

convoy waits for its cargo to

21:41

appear. It was very

21:44

cold. No. The desserts at

21:46

night in winter, very

21:48

cold. Ping

21:49

bang. We heard

21:52

a whistle and all of a sudden, three

21:54

two hundred fifty people

21:57

from darkness, you know, came toward

22:00

us, young people, old

22:02

people,

22:02

mothers, babies, whatever

22:05

you want quiet, unbelievable

22:08

quiet. The team load the Jews into the

22:10

convoy and set off.

22:12

After twenty four hours. They

22:14

arrive at the beach and transfer the

22:16

refugees onto the zodiac dengue. Then

22:18

they did the whole exercise

22:21

again. Another eighteen hundred

22:24

kilometers. After the second

22:26

trip, the team was

22:27

exhausted. We didn't

22:29

really rest. But

22:32

over the radio, the commander of the Bat Galim

22:35

offshore sent Danny a message. I

22:37

still have a lot of space

22:39

on this boat. Go

22:42

again. Danny put it to a

22:44

vote. Could they do another

22:46

one thousand eight hundred kilometer

22:48

round trip? but

22:50

one of the team voted to go again.

22:52

One of the crew, a doctor

22:54

by trade, dispensed Ben's

22:56

dream to keep each driver awake.

22:59

Then the third time,

23:01

the convoys started up again.

23:03

Arriving at the Dairaf

23:06

camp, another load of Jews are

23:08

hauled into the lorries. But

23:10

on the return

23:11

leg, even the benzodrine can't

23:14

keep everyone going. They

23:16

felt they was falling asleep I called one guy and

23:18

I told them, look, come drive. I will sit near

23:20

you. I will sleep fifteen minutes or

23:22

something. Almost

23:24

immediately after falling a however,

23:27

Danny is woken up by a

23:29

loud crash. Sometimes

23:34

those checkpoint,

23:36

those roadblocks, they would put barrels, and

23:38

he noticed the the

23:40

barrels when he was almost on top of it.

23:43

He went into the barrel

23:45

and there was a lorry coming. He

23:47

went into our car and then there

23:49

was, like, a chain accident.

23:52

One by one, the convoy

23:55

crashes. The Sudanese troops

23:57

stationed at the roadblock circled

23:59

the

23:59

vehicles. Danny

24:01

assembles the crew outside the convoy

24:03

giving them a simple order.

24:06

We do not allow them

24:08

to see who we

24:10

are taking in our figures. Okay?

24:12

And if the soldier

24:14

finds out, then he will not

24:16

be able to tell this

24:18

story to

24:18

anyone. We will take care of them. One

24:21

of

24:21

the soldiers approaches the middle glory.

24:23

I

24:24

went towards him and started to

24:26

But he

24:29

continued he wanted

24:30

to see.

24:31

Danny's crew armed only with

24:33

knives prepare themselves to take out

24:35

a platoon, a Kalashnikov wielding

24:38

Sudanese

24:38

soldiers. The

24:42

soldier reaches up towards the Lori's top

24:44

pulley, ready to look

24:46

inside. Danny tries to store him one last

24:47

time. They appreciate

24:50

very much toilet paper, and they

24:53

gave him toilet paper.

24:56

The soldier stops. And

24:57

at the last moment,

25:00

he said, okay. Okay. Okay.

25:02

And so he kept his life

25:04

The crew packed

25:06

up the vehicles, jumped back in,

25:08

and set off.

25:10

The Ethiopian Jews had not

25:12

made a sound. Throughout. After

25:16

safely delivering them to the back Gallim,

25:18

the commander on board

25:20

countered his cargo.

25:22

Some three hundred and fifty had been rescued.

25:25

Headquarters and

25:26

prime minister Reagan were

25:29

overjoyed.

25:30

And again,

25:31

I was in charge of communication,

25:33

got another, you know, blessing.

25:35

I mean, well

25:36

done, well done from everyone.

25:39

HQ authorizes further

25:42

evacuations. The naval

25:45

operations were working very well

25:47

The third happens shortly after in

25:49

March nineteen eighty

25:50

two. The convoy

25:53

picks up its cargo as planned and eventually

25:56

arrives back at the coast. Dani

25:58

orders Gagged to take up an observation

26:01

post in the corner of the

26:02

cove, surveilling the EVAC point

26:04

with night vision goggles. And as

26:06

Danny and the

26:07

convoy were getting closer

26:09

from my observation point, I

26:11

saw movement around.

26:13

Gage radios Danny.

26:15

We've got

26:15

company. And then

26:17

tells me their soldiers.

26:19

Danny orders one

26:20

of his men to stall the troops.

26:23

Soy one.

26:24

Finally, you

26:24

know, he gave them cigarettes or

26:27

whatever, and they

26:29

turned around the

26:29

left. Danny's instincts

26:32

begin to kick in. I

26:34

thought it cannot be, I mean,

26:36

two soldiers walking in the

26:38

middle of the

26:39

night, and they cannot be alone. Must

26:42

be others. He asks the

26:44

navy seals commander to bring all

26:46

available zodiacs onto the beach to meet

26:49

quickly. The Jews are loaded in

26:51

without life jackets or safety

26:52

belts. Things

26:53

started moving very quickly.

26:55

GAD Radio is Dani

26:57

again. Dani, I don't like it. There is a

27:00

movement around us like as if we

27:02

are in Trafalgar square on New

27:04

Year's

27:04

Eve. Then

27:05

he says and they are with the weapons in shooting

27:08

position.

27:09

Dani orders

27:10

gagged back from the observation point.

27:13

rest of the team were to finish moving the

27:16

final boats off the beach he adds,

27:18

while he and one other agent would

27:20

confront the advancing

27:21

soldiers. I

27:23

must say it was cool. It was keeping

27:25

his

27:25

senses. All of

27:26

his ODIX have left the beach

27:29

except one. Sixteen

27:32

boats. Minus

27:35

one.

27:35

The

27:35

last boat was stuck.

27:38

Ruby is leading the Zodiacs out

27:40

of the cove. The radio sparks into life

27:43

again. Oh, my

27:43

god. It's going to be a massacre

27:46

now. Along the beach,

27:48

Gard is still trying to move the last

27:50

boat of the

27:51

sand. I look back on the beach. It was like a

27:54

scene from a World War two

27:56

movie where the biggest up or

27:58

is rounding up French resistance fighters, you

28:00

know? And Danny, and I

28:02

think, was five more of our

28:04

people standing with hands up.

28:07

Gash radio is ruby. Where is

28:09

your weapon? I said, I

28:11

don't have a weapon.

28:13

Before approaching the soldiers,

28:16

Danny radios, the navy seals

28:18

commander. I'm going to stall

28:20

them. If something

28:20

happens, don't shoot

28:22

unless I'm dead or I give you permission

28:25

to shoot. And I

28:27

trusted him totally and he trusted

28:29

me. Danny approaches the

28:31

soldiers. And they shouted in

28:32

Arabic, stomped, we will kill you,

28:35

shoot you.

28:35

Even at this point,

28:38

Dani somehow manages to keep

28:40

his sense of humor. My

28:42

daughter inclines himself towards

28:44

me and even whispers in my

28:46

ear. Shall we

28:47

take them on?

28:48

We are three.

28:50

They are forty days.

28:53

Said, no. Not yet.

28:54

But it was foggy, you

28:56

know? Behind him, Danny sees

28:59

that the last boat is still stuck on

29:01

the beach. And so does one of the

29:02

soldiers. To start at

29:04

running towards the ball when he's done with his

29:07

geological ready to

29:08

shoot, Immediately, Danny runs with

29:11

him. He came to the

29:13

shore, to the water rage.

29:15

The boat was Well, right,

29:17

I don't know, maybe twenty five,

29:20

thirty, forty meters, something like

29:22

that. And then he saw the

29:24

other boats, then you could

29:27

see the fog the

29:29

engines made. So

29:31

before I could do anything, a

29:35

shot full burst

29:38

from his hip.

29:41

Ruby, meanwhile, is watching

29:44

everything offshore with the navy seal

29:46

commander who leans into him

29:48

and

29:48

says, Oh, the smell of

29:51

gunfire I am fired up. I am ready for

29:54

action.

29:54

Somehow, the soldier hit no

29:57

one. They Mossad. The

29:59

last boat when they heard the gunfire suddenly

30:03

were up in the

30:05

air like a flying source and

30:07

wound to the

30:08

sea. Danny

30:09

jumps on the soldier, wrestling him to

30:11

the ground. Someone hit

30:14

me with back of the rice on

30:16

my hand. That was a bit fuzzy,

30:18

but still

30:19

conscious. Getting up,

30:21

Dani realizes the soldiers

30:24

still don't know what they've stumbled

30:25

on. They saw a lot of people on the beach, but

30:28

in a monolith night, you'll

30:30

see people. You cannot

30:33

really say what

30:35

is the color of their skin.

30:37

On a wanderlust night, of course, nothing.

30:40

Everyone is dark. Right?

30:41

Dani shouts

30:42

at the officer. What

30:44

are you

30:44

doing? We are from

30:45

the resort. We are diving here.

30:48

Then he stops the officer in his tracks.

30:51

I mentioned the

30:52

name of the Adria, and then, you

30:55

know, with a very primitive Arabic,

30:57

it's explain to him that the

30:59

fish lobsters, we go under

31:01

the water, you know, that it can only

31:03

be done by

31:05

night. We're catching the generals weekly

31:08

lobster. Daddy explains.

31:09

Said, well, you know him? I

31:12

said, of course, I

31:12

know him. Is of a good

31:13

friend yesterday I was in his

31:16

office? Immediately, the

31:18

platoon is at ease. The commander

31:20

orders them to retreat off

31:22

the

31:22

beach. Danny says

31:24

he's going straight to the general to complain.

31:26

And I went

31:27

to Boston looking I knew where

31:29

the officers lived.

31:30

Arriving at

31:31

the house of the general's deputy in

31:33

the dead of night, Danny Faines

31:36

outraged at what has

31:37

happened. Had a real dry

31:40

blood on my head. I

31:42

had prepared in my mind a

31:44

very aggressive speech,

31:47

you know,

31:48

when you are attacked, you I mean, the best

31:50

defense is attacking.

31:51

So I said, look,

31:54

I came here to tell you that

31:56

I am packing, taking my

31:58

team, and I'm leaving this result. We

32:00

cannot continue working like this.

32:02

It's too

32:03

dangerous, and I cannot put my

32:06

toys in danger.

32:07

Embarrassed, the deputy

32:10

pleads with Danny not to leave.

32:11

The next morning, they meet with the

32:14

general himself, the man they

32:16

served fresh lobster every

32:18

week. Apologizing,

32:20

he says the beet will be off to all

32:22

Sudanese soldiers asking Danny

32:24

to reconsider. He even

32:27

gives them an official permit

32:29

stating that they're operating under the

32:31

generals auspices. Arriving

32:34

back at the resort though, even Danny

32:36

couldn't keep the episode

32:37

quiet. The Bat Galem reported back to

32:40

headquarters. The order

32:42

came as I thought to

32:44

abandon and I said,

32:47

If we do

32:47

that, we cannot come back. At

32:50

first, Dani ignores the

32:52

order, directly disobeying

32:54

the head of the

32:55

mossad. It's that coffee. As a former army

32:57

officer though, Danny was happy to live

32:59

with the consequences. It's not

33:02

the army, and they don't shoot you

33:04

because the obeyed field

33:05

conditions. Sensing he

33:07

leads to get hoffy back on

33:10

side, though. Danny soon realizes

33:12

he must follow the

33:13

order. And then

33:15

I gathered the team and I said, look,

33:17

I'm planned to go back to

33:19

Israel. And

33:20

try to convince the chief that

33:23

things are okay. Arriving

33:25

back in Israel,

33:29

Danny meets with Hoffey. Explaining

33:31

the situation, he implores

33:33

Hoffey to continue the operation.

33:36

Malaria and dysentery

33:38

was now killing Jews every day. While

33:40

some had been exposed to the Sudanese

33:42

police by fellow refugees, we

33:45

must

33:45

continue, he says. And the

33:48

resort still offers a

33:50

perfect cover. General

33:52

Coffey, he was the

33:54

leader that could accept

33:56

that he was wrong and do it

33:58

openly. And he changed

34:00

his own decision and he

34:02

said, okay, you can continue.

34:05

Simultaneously, Hoffey puts both an official rep

34:08

command and a citation

34:10

in

34:11

Danny's file. He had disobeyed a direct order from the chief,

34:14

but he was right to do

34:16

so.

34:16

Daniel Limon was

34:19

a little bit troublemaker is

34:21

one of the reasons he was chosen for

34:23

the job. But there's a change

34:25

of plan. Sea evacuations were

34:28

now deemed too risky

34:30

and huffy. Had spoken to

34:32

the head of the Israeli Air

34:34

Force who had offered to

34:35

help. From now on, the

34:38

Ethiopian Jews were to be airlifted

34:40

out of the desert

34:41

Danny returned

34:42

to the resort, which by

34:44

now is becoming a booming adventure. In

34:47

a very short time,

34:49

the village really came a success story

34:51

and started making money, which caused a problem

34:54

to the Masada Fountain to

34:56

head to

34:58

explain to the Ministry of Finance

35:00

how come that there is more money

35:02

now in the cashier's

35:04

office than there was before.

35:07

The even funded a marketing

35:09

campaign for the resort. Adventure a

35:12

la carte was the headline

35:14

below pictures of young men

35:16

and women walking on an idyllic

35:18

beach. This lagoon is like national geographic,

35:22

Pelicans, flamingos,

35:23

herons with some mangroves.

35:26

With the air, now the escape

35:28

route, the team found and

35:30

vetted the second world war landing

35:32

stream just inland from port

35:33

sedan. It was

35:35

used by the RAF in

35:37

Second World War to

35:39

launch aerial attacks

35:42

against the Italian air force. The

35:44

idea was presented to prime minister

35:46

Bagan who approved the operation.

35:48

The mission was

35:51

a go with the first airborne evacuation taking

35:54

place in May nineteen eighty

35:56

two. The

35:56

first stage of the plan was

35:59

the same as before. Collect

36:01

the juice from the Doraf camp and convoy back toward

36:03

the post. But

36:06

instead of loading them onto

36:08

zodiac dinkies, A

36:10

Hercules c one thirty military plane would be

36:12

waiting for them. But first,

36:15

however, it had

36:17

to land. meant lighting up the runway with

36:19

the glorious headlights. I

36:22

remember it was completely quiet and

36:24

then you clear because some

36:26

kind of a noise

36:28

in all of a sudden something

36:30

huge dark flies maybe

36:33

ten meters above you ahead. Lanes

36:38

on the street,

36:39

it has to reverse its colors

36:41

to make a short

36:43

stop. Cloud

36:44

of dust, we were sure it could

36:47

have been seen in cargo. The back

36:49

of the Hercules opens. Several

36:52

Israeli special forces march

36:54

out, illuminating the scene

36:56

with green stick lights.

36:58

Within fifteen minutes, some two

37:00

hundred Ethiopian Jews were

37:02

on board and in the

37:04

air. The pilot was the same

37:06

man who had picked up the first of

37:08

the beaters real back in nineteen

37:10

seventy six under the secret agreement between Ethiopia

37:14

and Israel.

37:15

It was a huge success because it was

37:17

a short, efficient operation

37:20

and the okay was

37:23

given with continue

37:23

this. The team complete a

37:26

second airlift six days

37:28

later, evacuating nearly two

37:31

hundred

37:31

more Jews. But then, an event

37:33

thousands of miles away

37:36

appended the

37:38

mission.

37:39

On June third,

37:42

nineteen eighty two, Palestinian

37:44

gunmen shot the Israeli ambassador

37:47

to the UK

37:48

In response, three days later, Israel

37:51

invaded neighboring Lebanon to

37:53

destroy Palestinian guerrilla

37:56

positions. The Israeli

37:58

air force were pulled off

38:00

operation brothers to fight in

38:02

what became known as the first Lebanon

38:06

War. Dani, a reservist

38:08

paratrooper goes to the front line

38:10

himself. I went to

38:12

my

38:12

unit. I did some fighting there.

38:15

We were on the eastern side

38:18

of Lebanon. So in front

38:20

of us was the Syrian Army,

38:22

Syrian commandos and

38:24

so

38:24

on. And so, again, the operation

38:26

stalled. GAD and Ruby stated

38:28

the resort to maintain its cover

38:31

while the war raged. By

38:35

the September however, the Palestinians had agreed to pull out

38:37

of Lebanon and Danny returned

38:40

to Israel. There,

38:42

headquarters allow the operation to

38:44

resume while a new landing site is

38:46

selected much closer

38:48

to Adaurav. The

38:50

new landing site was risky, however. It meant

38:52

going five hundred kilometers into

38:56

Sudanese airspace.

38:57

Now the weight

39:01

of danger goes

39:02

more to the air force

39:06

because those pilots, they penetrated at very

39:09

low altitude and

39:12

without any

39:14

lights. To avoid the radars and the

39:18

missiles. Given the risk

39:21

of detection, everything would have to be done much faster than

39:24

previously. Landing to takeoff

39:26

couldn't last much longer than ten

39:30

minutes. So Dani and the team did intense training

39:32

with the c one thirty squadrons in

39:34

the Nagev desert, affecting the

39:36

evacuation maneuvers.

39:39

By late spring, Operation

39:41

Brothers recommenced and the team were

39:43

back in Sudan. On

39:46

June tenth nineteen eighty three, another c

39:48

one thirty plane was in the air

39:50

headed for the country.

39:52

But soon, there's

39:54

a problem. The committee man

39:56

are delayed in rounding up the Jews for

39:58

evacuation. The secret police

40:00

have heightened security at the camps,

40:02

scaring some of the refugees into staying

40:05

inside. Dani knows that the plane will

40:07

not delay landing, nor wait

40:09

longer than

40:10

planned. On the sand.

40:12

Once

40:12

you penetrate sun is air

40:15

space, you cannot

40:15

turn around

40:16

and wait until the the people

40:20

come. So if you're not on time,

40:21

then he goes

40:22

back empty.

40:23

Radioing the pilot, Danny

40:26

says he doesn't have enough time to

40:28

fire up the covert

40:30

lights that only the plane could

40:31

detect. So I'm talking to the

40:34

pilot. Is it No. I have

40:36

to run. So go to the beginning of the strip,

40:38

turn your car into the

40:40

direction we're gonna have to land

40:42

and

40:43

light your full lights

40:45

on the car. In the rush

40:48

though, the committee have not been able

40:50

to brief the Jews on what would

40:52

happen, which was more of a risk

40:54

than

40:55

it sounds. None of them had ever used

40:57

electricity before. Let alone knew

40:59

what in clearer claim

41:02

was. Watching

41:02

AC1 thirty effect drop

41:05

over their heads into the desert

41:07

was asking for

41:09

trouble. But there's no time.

41:11

Their plane is about to

41:13

do just that I've been in many situations

41:15

in the army and so

41:17

on, but

41:18

sitting in a car with

41:22

this monster passes over your Maybe

41:24

several meters not much because

41:26

you landed immediately after. That's

41:29

something that you will You

41:32

have liked

41:33

this. Within the chaos

41:34

panic erupts. They ran

41:37

away. The team run

41:40

after

41:40

them. Everyone was

41:40

looking for Jews behind the rocks and the

41:43

even

41:43

the pilot and all

41:45

the airplane crew.

41:48

And commando soldiers and us all of

41:50

us looking for Jews and bringing them

41:52

inside the

41:53

plane. With every minute that

41:55

passes, the risk of exposure

41:58

grows. The first flight

42:00

that we

42:00

did, the plane was on

42:03

land from touching to

42:06

disengaging about average of

42:08

twelve minutes.

42:11

But

42:11

that night,

42:14

the plane was there for maybe forty five

42:16

minutes.

42:17

Eventually, each of the Jews are swept up

42:20

and hauled into

42:22

the plane.

42:23

So I gave the pilot sign that

42:25

he could

42:26

take off

42:28

and took off.

42:29

At that moment, another of the

42:32

Jews approaches Danny out of

42:34

the darkness. Leading

42:35

to the sky and

42:37

same. The big

42:40

bird took her son. And

42:44

so we were we were stuck with an

42:46

old lady.

42:49

Throughout nineteen eighty to

42:51

nineteen eighty four, Danny and

42:53

Faraday's original escape route of flying

42:55

Jews out on refugee feases.

42:57

Was still operational. The next

43:00

morning, Dani arranged a passport for

43:02

the women who landed in Israel

43:04

several days

43:06

later. Happy with the result of the airlift, the air force

43:08

upped the ante. They thought

43:10

if one plane could make the

43:11

trip, why

43:14

not another?

43:15

The plan was agreed. And in the

43:18

October, 2C1 thirties landed

43:20

in the Sudanese desert and collected

43:22

their cargo.

43:24

But while it was the start of a new step in the operation,

43:26

it also marked the end

43:30

of another. After nearly

43:32

five years running operation

43:34

brothers in the

43:35

field, Danny Lemont, was

43:38

tired. During his time

43:39

in Sudan, he had found Faraday

43:42

Aclum, improvised several separate

43:46

evacuation routes been imprisoned, started a professional

43:48

diving resort, and all the

43:50

while, rescued several thousand

43:54

Ethiopian Jews.

43:55

He was one

43:56

of those guys who If you throw him

43:58

through the door, he came back from the window. If

44:00

you threw him from the window, he came

44:02

back from the gymny. If you threw him from a

44:04

chimney, he came back from the cellar. And if

44:06

he had to face a

44:07

wall, he would knock his head on the wall and the

44:09

wall would come

44:11

down. Offered

44:11

a new mission within Mossad,

44:14

Danny accepted and wished

44:16

his team

44:17

luck. Thanks

44:17

to him, Operation Brothers

44:20

now had an effective system

44:22

to rescue the

44:23

Jews. The naval evacuations

44:26

resumed and airlifts were

44:28

stepped up. At one

44:30

point, 3C1 thirty

44:32

Hercules planes made the

44:33

trip. I

44:34

think there was one night that

44:36

we were the busiest airport in

44:38

Sudan But by late nineteen eighty four, the Mossad terminated

44:41

operation brothers after another

44:43

near miss during

44:46

an airlift. They

44:48

didn't leave the rest of the Jews to

44:50

their fate however. Sensing

44:52

an opportunity with President Emery

44:54

and with pressure from the Americans

44:57

Israel negotiated the secret evacuations

45:00

of the remaining refugees in

45:02

a separate operation,

45:05

code named Moses. The remaining

45:08

operation brother's team abandoned the

45:10

diving resort in nineteen eighty

45:12

five and evacuated

45:14

the country. They even left a

45:16

note on the desalination system for the advancing Sudanese soldiers.

45:19

It read, this is

45:22

the contribution of Israel to the well-being of

45:25

Sudan. In all,

45:28

over seven thousand Ethiopian

45:30

Jews were rescued through

45:33

Operation Brothers. Another four

45:35

thousand died either trying to

45:37

reach the camps or in

45:39

them. For Raffy Berg, the

45:40

Middle East editor at the BBC, Danny

45:43

Lemont is the

45:45

main reason so many, Peter Israel did reach the

45:48

promised land. If it

45:50

wasn't for Danny's own extraordinary

45:52

judgment, his decision making,

45:56

and his hot

45:57

spot, this operation would never have been accomplished

45:59

in the way that it

46:02

was.

46:03

Throughout the operation, Danny was

46:05

guided by one simple question. What is the

46:08

purpose

46:09

of our existence? Under

46:11

the sun. He

46:12

remained in the Mossad for

46:15

many more years, taking on missions

46:17

all over the world. But

46:19

for

46:19

him, rescuing the beater

46:22

Israel was always more than just a

46:24

mission. In Israel, you have people

46:26

coming from, I don't know, maybe a

46:28

hundred countries. For me, I realized that this

46:30

mosaic is part of

46:32

our

46:33

strength of our history

46:36

of our tradition. To

46:38

Kelly Macounen, one of the younger

46:41

committee men, is now part of

46:43

that tradition in Israel itself.

46:45

Having been evacuated by Danny in eighty

46:48

one. And

46:48

I learned to bring

46:51

her

46:51

own airport I

46:53

cry a lot. I kiss

46:54

the ground and thanks God. The

46:57

prayer of my grandfather brought

47:00

me

47:01

to my life country is

47:04

like, it's freedom.

47:06

You don't imagine what does

47:09

it mean freedom. In

47:11

Israel, Tekelsi got to know Faraday a

47:14

Klum. The man whose

47:16

telegram back in nineteen seventy eight

47:18

sparked

47:19

the entire operation. Further

47:22

is visionary.

47:24

If he's determined to

47:26

do something, he did it.

47:28

He didn't

47:29

speak a

47:30

lot. And his courage.

47:31

He he don't imagine.

47:34

And we'll keep

47:36

his dynasty.

47:37

Feraheme Aklum died in two thousand and

47:40

nine while in Addis

47:42

Ababa. Upon hearing the

47:44

news, Danny arranged for a

47:46

Mossad to repatriate

47:48

his body to

47:49

Israel, free of

47:51

charge. He

47:51

was not an easy man. I also

47:54

was not an easy man, but the

47:56

association of what

47:57

he brought and what I brought, that

47:59

was meaningful. Together, we could

48:01

do things

48:03

that separately we probably

48:06

would not have been able to do.

48:08

For the rest

48:09

of the true spies in Operation

48:11

Brothers, it was the mission

48:13

of a lifetime. This operation was run

48:16

like a Wild West

48:17

story, and it was

48:19

done so purposely.

48:21

This was one of the highlights of

48:23

the operation being run by

48:26

Danny. There was not one

48:28

single paragraph in

48:30

the book of how to run a clandestine operation, which

48:32

was not broken by purpose.

48:34

Because it was the only way, this is

48:36

Sudan.

48:37

It's different. Will risk it, will do

48:40

it. My

48:41

personal experience will remain with

48:43

me until the day

48:46

I die.

48:47

In the nineteen seventies, there were only a

48:50

handful of Ethiopian Jews living in

48:52

Israel. Today, there were

48:54

over one hundred and

48:56

forty thousand.

48:57

I'm so lucky it's up in my

49:00

generation.

49:01

The praying

49:02

of two thousand seven

49:06

hundred. I accomplished that

49:07

dream. I'm

49:11

Sofia de Martino. If you'd like

49:13

to learn more about Operation

49:16

Brothers, you're in luck. Over on

49:18

Spicake Plus, our subscriber only

49:20

channel, you'll find two bonus

49:22

on the beta is rail and the Red

49:24

Sea diving resort, full of

49:26

fascinating detail that we weren't able

49:28

to pack into these episodes.

49:30

Spicegate Plus is available via

49:32

Apple podcasts and spy scape

49:34

dot com forward slash

49:36

podcasts. Join us in our next

49:38

episode for some old

49:40

time glamour. As we uncover a secret history of

49:42

spies in

49:42

showbiz. We're heading back

49:44

to the dangerous days of the Vietnam

49:48

War. With unofficial MI six agent and world

49:50

renowned

49:50

author, Graham Green. Only

49:54

untrue spies.

49:57

Or if you're a

50:00

subscriber, just buy a scape plus on Apple

50:02

podcasts, there's no need to

50:03

wait. You can listen to the first

50:06

episode right now.

50:07

When he was sent to meet with

50:09

Ho Chi Minh, Graham Green

50:11

had essentially been blacklisted.

50:14

Added to

50:14

this, his cover story was

50:16

also proving hard to sustain. If

50:19

he was identified as a

50:21

British spy wandering around

50:23

Haifong, it would take him very little

50:25

for someone to do Of

50:26

course, once he got to Hanoi, he had no protection whatsoever.

50:28

Every day that he

50:30

spent waiting for an invitation,

50:32

he was increasingly at risk.

50:35

If he

50:35

was identified as a spy, you know,

50:38

he could have been nafed in the

50:39

street. True

50:42

spies. With me so

50:44

fear Timartino. Search for true

50:46

spies wherever you get your

50:49

podcasts. I'm Hailey at well. I'm

50:51

Vanessa Kirby. I'm Sofia de Martina,

50:54

and this is true spies.

50:56

And that was a signal

50:58

for me. To run.

51:00

Spine only requires two people to be able

51:02

to communicate. Then I saw that he had

51:04

been shot in the

51:05

head. The great James Bond

51:08

call robbery. With me,

51:10

Elizabeth Hurley. I'm Rory Brenda,

51:12

comedian, mimics by enthusiast and

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professional

51:14

liar. From the spy skate podcast

51:17

network, this is the spy game.

51:20

Introducing the resume of files.

51:22

Starring

51:23

me, Jessica Brownfinally, the resume

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of vials is available

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exclusively on spy skate plus

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along with every episode from the spy

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51:40

Disclaimer.

51:41

The views expressed in this podcast are

51:43

those of the subject. These stories are

51:45

told from their perspective, and

51:47

their authenticity should be assessed on a case

51:49

by case basis.