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Shay-Lee Keren Sharvit as Tamari, Rotem Sela as Batsheva Yahalomi and Libi Atia as Yael in Red Alert (Photo Danny Shwartzman/Green Productions, Bender Brown Productions, Keshet 12, the IEF, & Paramount+)Danny Shwartzman/Green Productions, Bender Brown Productions, Keshet 12, the IEF, & Paramount+
Some have argued it’s too soon for the horrors of that day to be dramatised. But two things are striking: the wholehearted collaboration of the survivors whose testimonies are portrayed, and the viewing figures. The show, written and directed by Lior Chefetz and produced by Oscar nominee Lawrence Bender – whose credits include Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Inglourious Basterds – is the most viewed Israeli drama of the past decade.
“From the very first moment I heard about the series and I was offered the role, I knew I wanted to do it,” says Sela. “I didn’t hesitate for a second. For me, it’s a true privilege to tell the story of what happened here on October 7. I think that’s maybe the essence of why I became an actress in the first place: to tell important stories. This might be one of the most important stories for us as Jews, as Israelis, that the world needs to know right now.”
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Shay-Lee Keren Sharvit as Tamari, Rotem Sela as Batsheva Yahalomi and Libi Atia as Yael in Red Alert (Photo: Green Productions, Bender Brown Productions, Keshet 12, the IEF, & Paramount+)Green Productions, Bender Brown Productions, Keshet 12, the IEF, & Paramount+
Sela is among Israel’s most recognisable stars with a highly varied career. She started out modelling, which she still does, and is also a presenter – including of Hakochav Haba (Rising Star), a musical talent show whose winner represents Israel at Eurovision. Her acting credits including The Beauty and the Baker and A Body that Works, but undertaking this role was on another level. “For me, as an actress, portraying someone who isn’t the creation of a screenwriter’s imagination is completely different,” she says in a video call. “Batsheva went through the worst things imaginable on the hardest day for the Jewish people. So working on her was a very delicate process.” Yahalomi was a regular visitor on set and opened her home to Sela. “We spent long hours together. She told me minute by minute what happened, as well as what she felt: her fears, her worries, the emotions that led to her actions that day. We were very synced.”
Yahalomi attended an early screening of the series in Tel Aviv. “It was super emotional for everyone,” says Sela. “I asked her how she felt and she told me it was pretty rough seeing her intimate family story on the big screen, but she was very satisfied with how it came out and the fact the world now will know what happened.”
Like many Israelis, Sela was home with her family when Hamas attacked early that Simchat Torah. “I woke up to the sounds of rocket sirens at 6.30am. We immediately turned on the TV and heard the news – it was so surreal because people were calling the news reporters begging for help. We have a lot of experience here in Israel with terror situations, bombings and so on, but this was different and we knew it right away.”
Filming for Red Alert took place well before the ceasefire, while dozens of hostages remained in captivity. “We filmed in the south of Israel and the war was still very much alive. We heard bombing and the military were there all the time. We basically filmed in a region that was still a war zone.”
There was an added dimension to the atmosphere on set for Sela. “Because I play a mother I was surrounded with child actors. I took it upon myself to protect [them]. I was on a secret mission to make sure everyone was OK because the scenes were very intense and emotional. So every time the director called ‘cut’, I made sure to bring us all back to reality by talking about happy, funny things and to distance the kids from the heaviness of the scenes.”
Sela has two daughters aged 14 and 12 and a nine-year-old son with her businessman husband Ariel Rotter. So how does she manage her huge schedule and fame with family life? “Being famous isn’t an issue for me and it’s not an issue in my home with my kids – they couldn’t care less, they just treat me like a regular mum,” she says. The juggling can be challenging and, like most other working mums, she occasionally experiences “feelings of guilt”.
Rotem Sela[Missing Credit]
“But then I remember I’m happy, and a happy mum is a happy home,” says Sela, who has a degree in law and business administration and has also passed the Israeli bar exam. “I have a friend who’s a doctor and a friend who’s a lawyer, and they work no less than me. I think my kids see me really happy and doing my thing, and I’m a very present mother even though I’m not always around. Everyone always laughs at me on set that there isn’t five minutes without one of my kids calling, asking for something.”
Right now she’s busy filming Hakochav Haba. Last year’s contest was highly charged, with October 7 survivors among the contestants – including winner Yuval Raphael whose song New Day Will Rise finished second at Eurovision. Despite the ceasefire, the furore surrounding the contest persists, as countries including Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands have threatened to boycott it if Israel competes. But the haters don’t faze Sela. “Last year we took second place and this year I’m sure we’re going to take first place. We have the most amazing people who are so talented and I believe in them.”
Sela is a popular TV presenter in Israel (Photo:Alon Shafransky)[Missing Credit]
She has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, but until now her international profile has been relatively low. She has previously said her priority is to focus on her career in Israel, but does she still feel that way? “Actually, I’m now more open to stuff abroad. I’ve had this really amazing career here for 20 something years and wanted to feel like I’m solid here in Israel, which I do now. I’m not going to move to LA and start doing auditions, but if something shows up I’ll probably embrace it.”
She certainly seems to be laying the groundwork. This summer Netflix launched Off Road, a docu-series following her and Lior Raz, co-creator and star of Fauda, on a month-long trip through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. They share the 4x4 driving, get stuck in the mud, watch a traditional horse game of kok boru, get tattoos done and visit a shaman.
With fellow actor and real-life friend Lior Riaz in the six-part series Off Road (photo: Netflix)[Missing Credit]
Both countries are predominantly Muslim, but there is never any hostility from locals, despite filming during the conflict. “We didn’t feel anything about us being Jewish and them being Muslims at all,” says Sela. “They’re the kindest, loveliest people. We decided on Central Asia because we’ve never been there, so we wanted to explore. I recently read an article here in Israel [saying] that everyone wants to go to Kyrgyzstan now after seeing Off Road!”
Viewers see Sela and Raz opening up emotionally and often disagreeing, as they navigate the highs and lows of their journey.
“When we finished filming I told Lior, ‘Listen, for a month please don’t speak with me, don’t call me, don’t text me. We need a break from each other.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do that.’ What you don’t see on TV is that we spent six to eight hours a day in a Jeep, not on highways, so it was super intense,” she laughs.
The promise was clearly made to be broken as the pair are already working on a new scripted project for Netflix, which Sela is tight-lipped about. Nevertheless, she said surviving Off Road led her to conclude that “me and Lior are forever”.
“He’s one of my best friends and we’re going to do so many projects together because we had so much fun and we get along so well. I love him and I love his wife and I love his kids – he’s the best.”
She’s aware of the pressure another good friend and fellow Israeli star Gal Gadot has come under since October 7, but is optimistic about venturing further afield.
“It’s probably not the best time to be Israeli abroad but I hope now that the war is over and the hostages are back everything will calm down.
“And you know what? We should be proud of being Israelis or being Jewish wherever we are. I know who I am, I know what my country is going through, I know what my army is doing and that’s it. I’m proud to be Jewish.”
Red Alert is available to stream on Paramount +
