The true story of a made-up Mossad operative

Published: Aug. 24, 2016, 8 a.m.

b'

Yiftach Atir\\u2019s novel, The English Teacher, is newly appeared in English translation this year.\\xa0Host Marcela Sulak reads some excerpts from the book, including Atir\'s opening note:

"The book you are holding in your hands is the true story of what never happened.\\xa0This is the story of a Mossad operative. She and others like her operate alone for extended periods of time, deep in enemy countries. Unlike their front-line soldier counterparts, these secret soldiers are armed with nothing but a foreign passport, a fake identity, extensive training, and inexplicable courage."

Atir was born in 1949 on a kibbutz in the south of Israel. As a young military officer, he participated in Operation Entebbe as well as\\xa0other, still-classified, military and intelligence operations. The English Teacher is the third of his four novels.

Text:
The English Teacher\\xa0by Yiftach Atir. Translated by Philip Simpson. Penguin Books, 2016.

Music:
Rami Fortis - Shkiata Shel HaZricha
Alberto Iglesias - "George Smiley" (from Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy OST)
Dick Hyman - Theme from The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

'