Yossi Alpher

Yossi Alpher is a former Israeli Mossad agent and co-editor of BitterLemons, an online magazine devoted to Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.

Fast Facts

1. Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
2. Residence: Israel
3. Served in Mossad
4. Created "Alpher Plan" to solve Israel-Palestinian settlement crisis
5. Served in Israeli Defense Forces
6. Co-editor of BitterLemons.org
7. Alpher wrote about encounter with Bruno in The Jewish Daily Forward¹
8. Called interview with Bruno "cynical and deceptive"¹

Life and Career

A former senior official in Israel's Mossad, Alpher served as director and acting head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. Alpher also served as a special advisor to former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak in 2000.

Bruno's Prank

In June of 2008, Alpher was tricked by a film crew for Sacha Baron Cohen's film, Bruno, into sitting for an interview on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Cohen's character, Bruno, is supposed to be a gay German talk show host, and during the interview, Bruno confused "Hamas" and hummus. At the end of the interview, Bruno made Alpher and his Palestinian partner hold hands and sing.¹ Bruno is due to be released in theaters in May, 2009.

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