Operation Finale

Operation Finale is a Netflix production based on the abduction and trial in Israel of Adolf Eichmann in 1960.

The first part – being the planning and kidnapping of Eichmann – was a largely accurate but the second part takes considerable dramatic licence with the facts.

Eichmann was the Nazi functionary that masterminded the Final Solution and as such was responsible for the death of 5 million Jews in Europe.

He escaped after the war to Argentina where, under the assumed name of Clemente, he worked as a foreman in the Mercedes factory.

He was tracked down to a remote house outside Buenos Aires and a Mossad/Shin Bet team was despatched to abduct him.

It was a tricky mission as he lived in such a remote area. As it was the 150th year of Argentinian independence, Israel sent a official delegation and the El Al plane carrying them could be used to fly Eichmann and the team back. Despite Eichmann – a creature of habit – not taking his normal bus, the abduction was successful and he was kept in a safe house.

This is where the film and reality differed.

Eichmann was played by Ben Kingsley and the interrogation of him, in reality a dialogue, is the centre piece of the film.

In the film El Al wanted a signed consent from Eichmann which the interrogator eventually obtained. Actually, Eichmann was drugged and the only complication was a query over the flight path.

In the film the Argentine secret police – with a chief who was a Nazi sympathiser – is hot on their tracks.

I call these films about Israeli acts of daring do chutzpah movies.

Generally they do not have an Israeli/Jewish cast.

Peter Finch was superb as premier Rabin in Raid on Entebbe and Paul Newman starred in Exodus.

Here Simon Russell Beale was a convincing Ben Gurion but, though Ben Kingsley is a fine actor, I thought he endowed Eichmann with too much intelligence.

Oskar Isaac, a Guatemalan actor, played the interrogator Peter and Melanie Laurent, the only Jew in the cast, the anaesthetist.

The  film did not dwell on the trial itself in which Eichmann adopted the Nuremberg defence of only following orders. He was hung, cremated and his ashes dispersed at sea.

Another interesting question is  the legacy of Eichmann.

At the time, though a breach of international law, there was some sympathy for Israel as the Argentinian government would not have complied with a extradition request.

A Nazi murderer had been traced tracked down and brought to justice.

However, after that the Mossad continued to carry out operations in foreign countries which more than upset the host nation(s) – one such was in Dubai in 2012 when the Mossad hit squad were disguised as tennis players. Iraqi nuclear scientists and terrorists were all fair game and, unlike with Eichmann, there was no trial.