Michael Greenspan
Investigative Journalist

The original vision for the role of a narrative host for this series was to be a young investigative television journalist, living and working in the United States, and getting an assignment to investigate stories of ‘supposed miracles’ surfacing during Israel’s wars. The reporter would take the assignment, travel to Israel, and spend thirteen days (thirteen episodes) meeting people and hearing their stories, which would then be illustrated with archive film footage and in some cases re-enacted as full-blown dramas. The key was finding the right person to ‘play’ this role.

As a seasoned professional journalist in his own right, former senior correspondent for CNN in Israel and an investigative journalist for other networks around the world, Michael Greenspan is the role that the creator and producer, Bill McKay envisioned. Michael's skill at interviewing, his knowledge of the histories and cultures of the Middle East, and his ability to speak fluent English and Hebrew, made him the consummate choice for this complicated central role in these films. Born and educated in the U.S., Michael has lived and worked in Israel for more than two decades.

The original script name for this character was not Michael's own. But after the first weeks of production, Michael suggested that he would be comfortable in using his own name, observing that it would add to the authenticity of the interviews, that he was very ‘comfortable’ with how his role was being defined on camera, and since he wasn't really ‘acting’ but doing what he had been professionally doing all his life.

The original scripted role had also called for Michael's character to experience his own spiritual journey in the course of filming these episodes. In reality, the production became a genuine spiritual journey for Michael. A confirmed agnostic at the outset of the project, by its end Michael acknowledged to Bill McKay, "If there was just a handful of so called, 'miracles', you could find a way to explain or rationalize these experiences. But, when there are over a hundred of these "miracles" reported by well educated, intelligent people, you have to conclude something happened. What that something is I don't yet know, but it has opened a window on my soul, I did not know was there."