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Who are the Stein family?

The Stein Group, a former arms company, was created by the late Eli Stein and is currently run by his Anglo-Israeli daughter, Nessa Stein.

Nessa and her father before his death

As children, Nessa and her brother Ephra witnessed the brutal assassination of Eli, a Zionist arms procurer, at the hands of the armed wing of Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). His wife Judith had died several years earlier, whilst giving birth to Nessa and thus, the Stein siblings were orphaned by the attack.

Once of age, Ephra took his father's place at the head of the company and won critical acclaim for his philanthropic initiatives in Israel, providing charitable funding for educational institutes. In 2006 he was awarded the Head of States Certificate for Outstanding Contribution by the Israeli Education Sector. In the same year, Ephra was awarded the Israeli Education Prize for Charitable Funding at the Peaceful Business Excellence Awards.

Despite his notable achievements, eight years ago Ephra stepped aside from his position at the head of the Stein Group and passed the mantle onto his sister. Nessa continued the group's philanthropic output, but she also had more radical ideas from the company's future - she inverted its purpose, providing high-speed data cabling across the Middle East in an effort to remove barriers, increase learning and knowledge, and peace in an area that has only ever known conflict.

Like her brother before her, Nessa's commitment to peace and education in the Middle East have seen her awarded with prizes for her sharp business brain and philanthropic effort. Just two years after her brother's triumph at the same event, Nessa was awarded the prize for Outstanding Female Leader in Global Trade and Business at the Peaceful Business Excellence Awards. She has also been honoured with the award for Advanced Communications Development in Times of Conflict by the Human Rights Commission for the laying of fibre optic cables throughout the West Bank, Gaza.

In 2014, due to her tireless promotion of projects for reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians, Nessa was made a life peer with a seat in the House of Lords.

She will henceforth bear the title of Baroness Nessa Stein.

Take a closer look

  • Find out more about Nessa and Ephra's family business, the Stein Group

  • Read Nessa's speech from episode 1

  • A record of Samir Meshal's final letter

  • Look inside the intelligence file on Rebecca Lantham

  • View Nessa through the eyes of MI6

  • Take a look at Nessa's notice of abduction from 2006

  • Photos of Monica and Nathaniel meeting to discuss unknown business

  • Is Shlomo really innocent? Take a look inside his file...

  • View the first and last pages of the signed Phrase Three contract

  • Meet the cast & characters of The Honourable Woman

  • Watch interviews with the cast