The Green Prince: A Story About a Hamas Prince That's a True Story

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

I shouldn't watch JBS so much.  This time Rabbi Golub interviewed two men who told us about the movie, The Green Prince, and the Rabbi wanted to kiss him; he was so touched.  The Prince was a son of one of the originators of Hamas.  By the time they finished, I wanted to kiss him, too! I just wish it were already on Netflix.  The movie came out in 2014 and was made in Germany.  

born 5 May 1978) is a Palestinian who worked undercover for Israel's internal security service Shin Bet from 1997 to 2007.Mosab Hassan Yousef (later Joseph) was born in Ramallah, a city 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) north of Jerusalem. His father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, is a Hamas co-founder who spent many years in Israeli prisons. He is the oldest of five brothers and three sisters.

 It is based on the autobiography of Mosab Hassan Yousef, Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices.  The film tells the story of Mosab, son of Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, who for ten years was a spy for Israel's Shin Bet. The documentary features largely interviews with Mosab Hassan Yousef and also with his operator Gonen Ben Yitzhak, with original footage from the events covered, mainly from the Second Intifada, interspersed during and between those interviews. It covers Israel's counter-terrorism efforts during that period.                           

                            Yousef at the 2019 Budapest Summit on Migration

JBS's Rabbi Golub then interviewed both men on the Rabbi's time slot and did a marvelous job. The website is below.   Their story is unbelievable.  Gonen Ben Yitzhak is the Shin Bet handler of Mosab, and now both men are very close.  Gonen has such a marvelous heart, understanding more than any of us Americans, how the Palestinians have been screwed up in their thinking about Jews, so afraid of having any normal relations with them that they harm themselves in depravation to not normalize conditions.  Mosab is a wonder.  He's one in a million.  He is said in the interview to be brilliant, to understand so much more than the regular person.  He doesn't even know what makes him so different in his thinking that he was willing eventually to work for Shin Bet.  That genius that makes this man stand out is why the rabbi and his wife, who also watched the movie, wanted to kiss him. 

In May 2016, talking to a Jerusalem Post conference in New York, Yousef said that at one point, he was simultaneously working for and being paid by Israel, the United States, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas. He went on to say that Islam as a whole is comparable to Nazism, and must be defeated.                                  

Gonen ben Yitzhak, b: 3 March 1971 (age 52) former Shin Bet handler, now a lawyer.  Gonen Ben Itzhak grew up in Ness Ziona. His father is Brigadier General Uzi Ben Itzhak and his mother, Ronit, is a music teacher. In 1985, the family moved to the United States due to his father's military service. Ben Itzhak served in the Israeli Navy. Following his discharge, he studied psychology at the University of Beer Sheva and completed a bachelor's degree. He was a troop coordinator and was the Southern District coordinator of the Israeli Scouts movement. In 2005, he began studying law and business administration at IDC Herzliya. He completed his master's degree with distinction at Tel-Aviv University.

Together with Yousef, Ben Itzhak worked to prevent Hamas terrorist operations in the area of Ramallah. Ben Itzhak stood behind the arrest of Shadi Saadiya, the terrorist behind the Ein 'Arik checkpoint attack in which six Israeli soldiers were killed.

Ben Itzhak was interviewed in the 2014 documentary film The Green Prince. He also served as professional advisor for the 2013 Israeli film Bethlehem and throughout the first season of the acclaimed Israeli television series, Fauda.

       

THE GREEN PRINCE

PG-13 

2014, Documentary/Biography, 1h 35m

77%

TOMATOMETER52 Reviews

83%

AUDIENCE SCORE

The Green Prince doesn't answer all the questions it raises, but it's still timely, gripping -- and ultimately uplifting -- viewing. Read critic reviews  Rotton Tomatoes.    Rabbi Golub asked an awful lot of questions of both men.  The answers were most uplifting.    Watch Golub's interview.       

Resource: JBS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=428VLNtCmIk *****

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Prince-Mosab-Hassan-Yousef/dp/B00RB8GTH2#:~:text=Watch%20The%20Green%20Prince%20%7C%20Prime%20Video