The Berko Family
The Berko family is not a typical Israeli family. The parents are deeply involved in Israel’s security apparatus and have intimate knowledge of Arabs and Arab culture; the children have served in different branches of the Israeli national security apparatus.
Dr. Anat Berko is a world-renowned expert on counterterrorism, who conducted first-hand research in maximum security prisons in Israel. Anat was born in Israel to parents who were Jewish refugees from Iraq. Her books —The Path to Paradise and The Smarter Bomb — examine the inner world of suicide bombers, especially of women and children, and of those who recruit and dispatch them. She is also a former member of the Israeli parliament and Lieutenant Colonel (ret.) in the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). Anat has lectured on counterterrorism for NATO and before the United States Congress, State Department, FBI, and armed forces, as well as at many universities throughout the United States and elsewhere abroad.
Dr. Reuven Berko, served as an officer in one of the IDF’s most secret intelligence units; it operates beyond Israeli borders and takes on covert missions in the most dangerous territories in foreign countries and hostile states. Reuven was born in a small agricultural settlement [moshav] and his parents were Holocaust survivors. Throughout his career — both with the IDF and the Israeli Police as a Colonel (ret.) advisor on Arab Affairs — Reuven developed intimate ties with senior Palestinian and Arab officials throughout the Middle East. He specializes in HUMINT and psychological warfare and is fluent in Arabic.
Tzlil Berko worked for private security companies (both high- and low-tech) in a variety of positions, including sales director and marketing PMO for tactical gear, AI and simulations. She is an entrepreneur and an avid writer — of poetry, song lyrics, short stories, scripts, and more. Tzlil has played a major role in conceiving and writing with her parents a TV psychological thriller and a family melodrama that draws on Dr. Anat Berko’s books and the family’s remarkable personal story.
The family are currently developing a screen adaptation of their story.