Gilles Ben-David

Gilles Ben-David (b. October 25, 1955), sometimes credited as Gil Ben-David, is an Israeli actor and puppeteer who performs Moishe Oofnik, Israel's answer to Oscar the Grouch. Fluent in English and French, as well as Hebrew, Ben-David first played the role on Rechov Sumsum in 1982. He reprised the part on Shalom Sesame, Sesame Street Stays Up Late, the 1997 Rechov Sumsum — Shara'a Simsim co-production with Palestine, live appearances, and the 2006 revival of Rechov Sumsum. He also performed Noah on Sippuray Sumsum and trained puppeteers for the revived Rechov Sumsum.
As Ben-David recalled in an interview, "Like all good things in life, I got the part of Moishe Oofnik by accident." He was just out of acting school, and a friend was working as a production assistant on Rechov Sumsum. Ben-David asked if an audition could be arranged: 
 He auditioned with actor Nathan Dattner. Operating the Grouch, he said, "Come on, I'll fix your pencil," and broke Dattner's prop without hesitation. He won the part.
The puppeteer also spoke positively of the brief attempt at collaboration with Palestinian performers and crew: 
Outside of Oofnik, Ben-David's career as a performer has encompassed the Spitting Image-style political puppet series Hartzufim (puppeteering Israel's Foreign Minister David Levy and other figures), as well as stage acting, and reciting Jules Verne in French and Hebrew at the Institut Francais 2005 Science and Imagination conference. On camera, he has appeared in various live-action films, in either English or Hebrew, including the thrillers The Ambassador and The Human Shield and the short film Pepe's Choice, plus episodes of the Israeli TV prison drama Zinzana. 
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:International Sesame Street Performers