Arieh Elias

In 1941, he was the first Jew to be accepted to the drama faculty of Baghdad's Academy of Fine Arts.

He joined the Palmach and fought in the War of Independence.

At first he had trouble finding work as an actor due to his pronounced Arabic accent, but his popularity grew after playing the lead in the Israeli film HaYeled Me'ever LaRechov (The Boy Across The Street) in 1965.

[3] In the early 1960s, he directed the theater troupe of the Frank Sinatra Center in Nazareth, staging Jean d'Arc, Nasser Aladdin and Majnun Night for El-Hadit Theater.

In 2013, he won a lifetime achievement award from the Israeli Artists’ Association.