Gideon Raff

Gideon "Gidi" Raff (; born 10 September 1972) is an Israeli film and television director, screenwriter, and writer. He is best known for his creation of the Channel 2 thriller drama series Prisoners of War, from which he later co-developed the American version of the series, Homeland. Early life Raff was born in Jerusalem, to a Jewish family. His father is Eitan Raff, who served as Accountant General in the Israeli Ministry of Finance, was Chairman of the Board of Bank Leumi and, , was under criminal investigation for having aided US customers in tax evasion. From the ages of two to six he lived in Washington, D.C., where his father was Economic Adviser to the Israeli Embassy. After serving three years as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces, he completed a degree in film at Tel Aviv University.