(JNS.org) The Israeli co-creator of the U.S. spy television series “Homeland” says the Jewish state should become a major filming location for U.S. shows about the Middle East. Writer/director Gideon Raff is also leading production of the Fox drama “Tyrant” and the NBCUniversal archeological mystery “The Dig.” Both shows are being filmed in Israel simultaneously, a first for the country. “Homeland” was based on Raff’s Israeli television drama “Hatufim.” “To concoct the Middle East in Los Angeles you have to spend a lot of money,” Raff told Reuters. “You need to get the cars, the attire and the faces right. The Middle East is not just a desert, and Americans are increasingly sophisticated and expect a show set outside the United States to have been shot outside of the United States.”