The Spy Who Ran Mossad’s Fake Hotel | Gad Shimron on his Double Life as a Windsurfing Coach | 4

The Spy Who

Wondery

History

4.6 • 669 Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Ex-Mossad agent Gad Shimron spent three years at the Arous Diving Resort, in war-torn Sudan. He was hotel staff by day, taking guests out for sailing trips and windsurfing lessons. But by night, he was helping fellow Mossad agent Dani Limor smuggle thousands of persecuted Ethiopian Jews through Sudan and to Jerusalem. He speaks to actor and spy novelist Charlie Higson about this dual life, living under the threat of being discovered, and surviving gunfire by the Sudanese military.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Wonderry Plus subscribers can binge full seasons of the Spy Who early and add free on Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app.
0:12.9	From Wondery, I'm Charlie Higson, spy novelist, actor, comedian, and this is The Spy Who.
0:25.3	Thank you for joining us for our final episode of The Spy Who ran Mossad's Fake Hotel.
0:31.7	Now, this is a story without parallel.
0:35.1	It's 1979.
0:36.8	Ethiopian Jews are strangers in their own land, persecuted,
0:40.6	whilst war rages all around them. Rumors start circulating, that there's a path to Jerusalem,
0:47.1	but first they must trek the dangerous 900 kilometres to Sudan, through mountains and jungles
0:52.9	facing starvation, wild animals and bandits.
0:56.8	Not to mention the Muslim majority Sudan being at war with Israel.
1:02.0	Leaving Ethiopia was already a crime, leaving to go to Jerusalem, an act of treason.
1:08.8	Q Operation Brothers.
1:11.3	Israeli intelligence agency Mossad
1:13.3	acts behind enemy lines
1:15.1	using boats and planes
1:16.6	to get people out
1:17.7	and to take them to Israel.
1:20.0	As the operation grows,
1:21.6	they stumble across
1:22.6	the dilapidated Arous resort
1:24.4	on the Red Sea.
1:25.9	It's the perfect cover for their mission and a base for their
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 13 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.