| Ziva David זיוה דויד |
|
|---|---|
| NCIS character | |
Cote de Pablo as Ziva David in the Season 3 episode, "Silver War". |
|
| First appearance | "Kill Ari (Part 1)" |
| Portrayed by | Cote de Pablo |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | 2009–present, Special agent, Major Case Response Team Field Agent, NCIS (Season 7–present), 2005–2009 Mossad Liaison Officer (with NCIS) (seasons 3–7), 2003–2005 Mossad operative, control officer, 2001–2003 Soldier in the Israeli Army |
| Family | Eli David (father) Rivka David (mother, deceased) Ari Haswari (paternal half brother, deceased) Tali David (sister, deceased)[1] |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Nationality | Israeli; American |
Ziva David (Hebrew: זיוה דויד, pronounced [ˈziva daˈvid], Ziva: "Brilliance", David: "Beloved"; English pronunciation: /ˈziːvə dəˈviːd/; born November 12, 1982, Be'er Sheva, Israel[1][2]) is a fictional character from the NCIS television series by CBS Television, portrayed by Chilean actress Coté de Pablo.
David was introduced in the Season 3 premiere episode "Kill Ari (Part 1)" and became a regular cast member from the episode "Silver War" as a replacement of Caitlin "Kate" Todd, portrayed by Sasha Alexander during the first two seasons.
Ziva was an agent of the Israeli Mossad, originally assigned to NCIS as a liaison officer until she resigned in Season 7 and became a probationary NCIS agent.
Upon passing her citizenship exam, Ziva was sworn in as a U.S. citizen with McGee, Ducky, Abby and Palmer being present at her ceremony.[3]
In the Season 9 premiere episode "Nature of the Beast", after being a Probie for nearly two or three years, Ziva finally earned her status as an NCIS Special Agent.
Contents |
Ziva's father, Eli David, was a Mossad operative for most of his life, and is currently the Mossad director, having previously been at the position of Deputy Director. Ziva had a younger sister, Tali, who was killed in a Hamas suicide bombing when she was sixteen years old.[4]
Ziva's mother, Rivka, is first mentioned in the Season 6 episode "Silent Night", and Ziva described her as a woman who preferred Ziva playing with dolls instead of "boy games" like Battleship and G.I. Joe. By 1991, Ziva's mother took her children and left Eli because she could no longer tolerate the nature of his work.[5] In Season 9 episode "Safe Harbor" it was confirmed that she is deceased, presumably as a result of the conflict in Israel, as Ziva describes her as having been killed.[6]
As a child Ziva took ballet, though her father never came to any of her performances.[7] Since her early childhood, Eli trained her in combat tactics and espionage (according to Ziva, one of her earliest memories of childhood was her father leading her and her sister into a forest, blindfolded, then leaving them there to find their way out again). In Season 6 episode "Roadkill", she said to Tony, "You and I come from two totally different places. In my world, you grow up fast. You have no choice." Contrary to speculation, she claims she volunteered to join Mossad as soon as she was eligible, and was not motivated by the desire to avenge the death of her sister.[8]
She has at least one aunt and uncle, though from how many families has not been specified.
Directly after high school, before joining Mossad, Ziva was in the Israeli army (Tzahal being an Israel Defense Force) for two years as is compulsory for all Israeli women. During her time at Mossad, Ziva was part of a special operations unit known as Kidon, which is part of the Metsada (which is now code-named Komemiute). This unit specialized in assassinations, paramilitary operations, sabotage, and psychological warfare. Ziva's position was control officer.
In Season 3 episode "Head Case" she stated that one of her friends from Mossad had been beheaded after infiltrating a Hamas cell in Ramallah, and that Hamas terrorists had sent his head back on the overnight express. She then swore never to be captured alive although she eventually was at the end of Season 6.
Ziva has been involved in operations in Cairo, Egypt (where she met Jenny Shepard, who later became Director of NCIS), in Iraq before its occupation, in Paris where she worked with partner Namir Eschel, and in Eastern Europe alongside Jenny Shepard, which was followed by six months in the United Kingdom on counter-terrorist operations directly prior to working with NCIS.
When she returned to Mossad between seasons five and six she went undercover as a singer in Morocco but was left injured in a bomb blast at the bar she was in. Ziva is very skilled in hand-to-hand combat and shooting. Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs even asked her to teach a class on knife throwing in season four. In the episode "Jetlag", Ziva states that she has killed a man with a credit card.[4]
Ziva also had a half-brother, Ari Haswari, who was also a Mossad operative. He later turned rogue, killing Special Agent Caitlin Todd and almost shooting Gibbs in the head before Ziva responded by killing him, thus saving Gibbs' life.
Officer David was sent to NCIS following the murder of Special Agent Todd by Ari. She was Ari's control officer and half-sister due to the fact that they both shared the same father, Mossad's then Deputy Director, Eli David.[4] Eli David is later described as Director of Mossad.
Her appearance and eventual assignment to Gibbs' team drew fierce resentment from team members Anthony DiNozzo, Timothy McGee and even from Gibbs himself when he learned that Director Shepard had signed Ziva to his team without his knowledge; they were all still grieving for Todd, who had been murdered hours before Ziva's arrival.
She later proved her worth in the episode, "Silver War" by using her training to save herself and Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard from Dr. Burns, a rogue member of the Smithsonian Anthropology Lab. This in turn caused the team to develop a new-found respect for her and Ziva also formed a strong friendship with Ducky as a result.
During the episode "Kill Ari (Part 2)", NCIS Special Agent Gibbs found himself cornered by an armed Ari, but Ziva emerged at the last minute and killed Ari with a single gunshot wound to the forehead, similarly to the way Ari had shot Agent Kate Todd in the Season 2 finale, "Twilight". After Ari's death, she asked to be assigned as a liaison for Mossad at NCIS, where she subsequently joined Special Agent Gibbs' team.[4]
In "Judgment Day (Part 2)", Ziva's liaison position was terminated under the orders of newly appointed Director Vance following the death of Director Shepard.[4] She later returned in "Last Man Standing".
In "Last Man Standing", Ziva was working undercover in Morocco after her liaison position with NCIS was terminated by Director Leon Vance. After Gibbs noticed an unconscious Ziva on the news following an explosion where she was working, it was soon revealed that Vance had deliberately sent Ziva back to Israel in order to help uncover a mole within NCIS itself.[9]
At the end of season six she chose to return to Israel and was sent on a mission to take down a terrorist in Somalia named Saleem Ulman. However, after one member of her team was killed and the other two injured, leaving her the only agent able to continue, she sent the remaining two back to Israel and went to the terrorist camp alone. She was subsequently captured and tortured for several months.
Believed to be dead in the first episode of season seven "Truth or Consequences", Ziva was nonetheless found alive later in the episode, rescued by DiNozzo and McGee, and with Gibbs killing her captor himself.
In season 7, she became a probationary NCIS agent pending US citizenship. At season's end, she ended up becoming a United States citizen having successfully passed her exams.[3]
In season 9, it is revealed that she is no longer a probationary NCIS agent, but a full-time agent of NCIS.
While little is revealed about Ziva’s personal life, it is known that, while she is on close terms with all the members of the NCIS team, she is especially close with Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Anthony DiNozzo. Michael Bashan (a senior Mossad officer) accused Ziva of sleeping with DiNozzo in "Shalom", saying: “Did you or did you not sleep with him?”, but she did not answer the question. There is a great deal of sexual tension between Tony and Ziva, which is a recurring theme in many episodes, from her first appearance and on. In McGee's book, the characters based on Tony and Ziva are engaged in a relationship.
During season four, she developed a short but intense friendship with Lt. Roy Sanders (Matthew Marsden), who had been intentionally exposed to radiation by a co-worker, in "Dead Man Walking". Ziva knew him from her daily run, during which he always passes her at a high rate of speed.
As he got progressively sicker, it became clear that he was dying from radiation poisoning. He asked if she would have noticed him if he had just stopped running. She replied that eventually she might have forgotten him, but that she will never forget him now.
In this episode, Tony showed both his concern and his support for Ziva. He expressed concern that she might be hurt if Sanders dies, and he showed his support for her by distracting Sanders' doctor so Ziva and Lt. Sanders can have some alone time. The orange beanie that Ziva wore in subsequent episodes was the same one that Lt. Sanders used to wear when he went running.
During season five, she had a relationship with a suspect while undercover.[10]
During season six, her relationship with Officer Michael Rivkin was revealed. He was later killed by Senior Special Agent DiNozzo.[11] This had serious repercussions for Tony and Ziva's relationship, and eventually proved to be the main reason for Ziva to remain in Israel and resume working for Mossad.
In Season 7, Tony believed that Ziva was dead and went to avenge her murder along with McGee. Finally, Ziva was brought to talk to him. She was shown to be badly beaten and very weak, and unsure of how to react at Tony's presence. She then told him he should not have come, but Tony explained that he "couldn't live without [her]". Eventually, Gibbs killed their captor, a terrorist named Saleem Ulman, with a long range head shot and Ziva, Tony, and McGee were finally able to escape to safety. Even after they return home, there seemed to be a great degree of awkwardness between them, which was only resolved when Ziva confronted Tony in the men's room and thanked him, saying he would "always have her back" before kissing him on the cheek. Since then, their relationship has been as it was before.
In the episode "Semper Fidelis", Ziva was shown to live at 3558 Volta Place NW, Washington, D.C. before the apartment was destroyed in an explosion engineered by Mossad.
In the episode "Untouchable", Ziva stated that she is a "screamer".
Ziva drives a red Mini Cooper, which was shown in "Shalom" and "Aliyah".
Ziva's favorite drink is Berry Mango Madness and she has been known to pick up falafel for lunch when she has to drive the van somewhere.
Ziva loves to read but does not watch much television. Her favorite movie is The Sound of Music.
Ziva plays the piano and has Jimmy Palmer come over to tune it in Season 3.
In Season 4, Ziva reveals that she is a Scorpio which is Cote de Pablo's real life sign.
In episode Deception, 3.13 Ziva reveals she hates clowns when talking to a suspect.
Ziva appears to like music by Israeli hip-hop/funk band Hadag Nahash. At the beginning of "Ex-File", she arrives for work listening to their song "Bella Bellissima" on a new iPod, one of a set that Abby bought for the team with her tax refund.
In season 8 of NCIS, Ziva returns home from Miami where she has met a man named Ray, although she doesn't confirm that the relationship is romantic, Tony still displays some jealousy. Ziva introduces Ray to her teammates in the season 8 episode, "Two-Faced". In the season 8 finale, Ray gives Ziva an empty box as a promise that he is committed to her, but he needs to take care of something work related. It is revealed to the audience that he had received a text message that said Trent Kort was in Tel Aviv, and that Ray had to deal with that.
Ziva is an Israeli Jew, and was always seen wearing a Star of David pendant,[4] until her capture in Somalia where her captor ripped it off her neck. In "Faith", a gold chain appears on her neck and in "Flesh and Blood" she is shown wearing a silver Star of David pendant; it's unclear who gave it to her or whether she bought it herself.
In "Tribes", she states that she is Jewish during an investigation of a Marine's death. She does not appear to follow Orthodox Jewish strictures, dating men who are not Jewish, but does mention celebrating some Jewish holidays.
Despite having lost friends and family to radical Islamic terrorist groups like Hamas, she appears to bear no resentment towards Muslims in general. She commented in "Tribes" that her childhood best friend was a Muslim, but he was killed in a retaliatory Israeli air-strike when she was twelve.
After she has to shoot her half-brother, Ari, to keep him from killing Gibbs, Ziva quietly sings in Hebrew over Ari's body.
De Pablo describes the character as someone who is "completely different from anyone else on the show" and that because "she's been around men all her life; she's used to men in authority. She's not afraid of men."[12] Ziva is often portrayed as calmly aggressive and does not shy away from physical altercations with suspects. She is not easily intimidated or rattled. She approaches her job with zeal, appearing to truly believe in what she does. She is very committed to the ideals of the US, in particular the bounds that law places on all citizens including the government.
In "Faith", Ziva said that she speaks ten languages (including the "language of love"). The languages are: English, Hebrew,[13] Spanish,[14] Arabic,[15] Turkish,[16] French.[17] and Pashto,[18] German, Italian and Russian.[15]
A running gag in the series is Ziva frequently misusing, misunderstanding or just completely mangling American slang, cultural references, colloquialisms and idioms. For example: In "Silver War", she said she felt like a "donkey's butt" when she meant "horse's ass". In "Friends and Lovers", she said during an interview with a junkie that it was "like shooting fish in a pond". When the DC Metro detective corrected her, she remarked, "Why would there be fish in a barrel?"
The episode "Dagger" showed Ziva's empathetic side towards children. When Agent Lee's sister was left an orphan at the end of the episode, she and Tony looked after her in the NCIS building. Ziva was shown taking care of Amanda at her desk, watching over as she drew pictures. As Gibbs explained to Amanda that her sister would not be coming back, Ziva was shown to be emotionally affected by it. This side was further seen in the season 7 episode "Outlaws and In-Laws" when she immediately reached out to play with Gibbs' two-year-old goddaughter while on security detail.
Ziva is an extremely skilled assassin and is able to take life without hesitation or remorse when the situation requires, something that has not changed with her new affiliation with NCIS; despite this, Ziva is capable of displaying playfulness, nearly childishness at times, such as in "Heartland" when she gleefully races McGee to be the first to tell Tony and Abby about meeting Gibbs' father.
During Ziva and Tony’s first meeting, she taunted Tony in much the same way Caitlin Todd did before she was killed. Some aspects of Ziva's personality disturb him, such as the fact that she sleeps with a gun in her hand and snores "like a drunken sailor with emphysema" which he learned on an undercover assignment as married assassins in the episode "Under Covers".
In the episode "Shalom", it is revealed that Tony has been visiting Ziva at her apartment at least once a week for the past three months.[19] His reasons for visiting are left unexplained. When Ziva was asked the question "Did you or did you not sleep with him?", she did not give an answer.
During Season 5, Ziva continues to bait Tony with her loaded comments, talking about soulmates in the episode "Designated Target". Ziva seems jealous at times of the women Tony is with, even going so far as to confront him when she sees that he is attracted to an FBI agent or mutter about him sharing a room with another NCIS agent in Baghdad. Tony's feelings, however, are unclear: he displays both normal-working-partnership-feelings and some signs of jealousy.[10]
Season 6 focuses more on Ziva and Tony, but leaves their relationship undefined. When Ziva accompanies Gibbs onto the USS Seahawk as part of an investigation, she notices Tony has three pictures of her in a bikini pinned up in his room.[20] In "Nine Lives", Tony finds a picture of a man on her desk, not knowing that the man in the picture was Ziva's Mossad partner. Tony also tells her to have a good trip ("Nisiya Tova") in Hebrew demonstrating that he had at least made some effort to learn that phrase. In "Cloak" Ziva disobeys Gibbs' orders, attacking the guards to defend Tony. Later they both say that they are "tired of pretending": Tony about the politics in the hunt for the mole within the team, which required the team to withhold information from each other, Ziva for reasons undisclosed. In the following episode, "Dagger", it is revealed Tony knows the location of her tattoo, he says, "then I shouldn't know about that tattoo on the inside of your..." Ziva then cuts him off.
During the episode "Truth or Consequences", Tony initiates a mission of revenge against the men team NCIS believes has killed Ziva. Tony, McGee and Gibbs travel to Somalia to kill Ziva's killer, and find that Ziva is alive. Ziva asks why Tony is in Somalia. Tony, under truth serum, first deflects. When Ziva asks again, he replies, "I couldn't live without you, I guess."
In the episode "Jet Lag", Ziva tells a witness that she and Tony shared a hotel room, and that she took the couch so she wouldn't have to hear Tony whine about his back. Tony then tells McGee that he took the couch. Ziva asks Tony why he lied and Tony returns the question. Then, Tony tells Ziva his favorite picture of Paris was the only one with a person in it. When he gives the photo to Ziva, the audience sees that she is the person in the photograph. There was much speculation on the part of fans about whether the characters might have shared more than was divulged, but Michael Weatherly said in response, “The truth of what happened is probably something that can be discovered inside the episode itself,” he says. “If you really listen to what they say, I think it is pretty clear what happened: Nothing.”[21]
In the episode "Masquerade", Ziva mentions her time in Somalia, but refuses to give Tony much more than a few terse statements about it, though he was obviously willing to listen to her. In the final episode of season 7, "Rule Fifty-One", Tony misses Ziva's citizenship ceremony due to an unexpected assignment from Director Vance, despite his personal promises to her that he would be there.
Recently, in season 8, Tony and Ziva both have become jealous of each others relationship. Tony has gone so far as to attempt to hack into Ziva's email to see what the name of her boyfriend is, which is later revealed to be Ray Cruz. In the episode, Two-Faced, Tony was rather cold towards Ray and did not like him at all. Ziva has shown definite curiosity as to Tony and EJ's relationship.
In the episode "Swan Song", Ziva turns to Tony for comfort while the team are greiving over the death of former NCIS agent Mike Franks. Tony comforts Ziva by hugging her and stroking her cheek telling her that "we are going to get him... {the Port to Port Killer}" In the season 8 finale, Ziva was kidnapped by the Serial killer and Tony showed great concern. While talking to EJ, EJ tells him that they will find Ziva and Tony replies saying how "it's just different for some of us", adding further implications that he may have feelings for Ziva.
Gibbs has been a surrogate father figure for Ziva since around the middle of season three and the tendency intensified after she severed contact with Eli David following her return from Somalia. Ziva referred to Gibbs once as 'the closest thing I have to a father' after her return to the US in season 7. In "Shalom" Ziva requests Gibbs help in clearing her name after being framed for a terrorist bombing by Iranian Intelligence. Ziva and Gibbs share several characteristics: they both rarely show emotion, speak Russian, and are extremely skilled at what they do. Ziva often finds it difficult to follow Gibbs' orders due to the autonomy she had as a Mossad control officer.
She had a close relationship with deceased NCIS director Jenny Shepard, occasionally calling on her to obtain key information in a case without going through regular channels (as seen in the Season 3 episode "Head Case"). This relationship gave rise to complications between Ziva and Gibbs, primarily stemming from Shepard's decision to add Ziva to the team without consulting him.[4] Ziva seems to be more willing to show her vulnerability with Gibbs than with the other team members, with the exception of DiNozzo.
Of all her relationships with the team, Ziva and Gibbs' has undergone the most growth. Initially, Gibbs distrusted Ziva as she was Ari Haswari's control agent. Ziva also bore the brunt of Gibbs' anger after Caitlin Todd was murdered. After Ziva killed her own half brother Ari in order to save Gibbs' life, they shared a secret; Gibbs and Ziva are the only two who know that she killed Haswari. There is still tension, however, that continued up until the conclusion of the third season episode "Silver War" when Ziva saved Ducky's life.
Season 3's "Hiatus" shows how much Ziva is affected when Gibbs is critically injured in an explosion and awakes with memory loss. In "Hiatus Part 1", Ducky unintentionally chastises Ziva for not asking which hospital Gibbs was taken to after the explosion; upsetting her when he implies that Ziva does not care for Gibbs like the rest of the team does. She also finds herself being slapped by Abby when she comments about Gibbs' possible death scenario. Ziva is shown in the bathroom following this, extremely upset by the fact that they think that she does not care. In the second part of this episode, Ziva visits Gibbs at the hospital in the night and begs him to remember. When he becomes angry, Ziva uses his hand to slap the back of her head, causing Gibbs to remember himself within his team. He remembers that Ziva saved his life and that she had killed her brother to do it while Ziva breaks down and cries into his arms. He remarks that he owes her later on in the episode, something that would become true when he returns to the US during Shalom to help Ziva find out who's framed her for murder.
Ziva looks up to Gibbs as a leader and often restrains herself from resorting to her assassin background in situations where Gibbs would not approve. Gibbs often uses this background to their advantage, however, by choosing Ziva to interrogate certain suspects.
In Episode 7.02 "Reunion", Ziva admitted to Gibbs that she was under orders from Director David to gain his trust and kill Ari in the process. Ziva confided in Gibbs, making it known that she volunteered for the mission in order to protect Ari. Gibbs replied, "You killed Ari, your own brother, and you lied to me, Ziva." Ziva, having revealed this long held secret, confided to Gibbs her feelings on the subject of Ari's death and her family. She said, “I would have lied to you, he was my brother. You were nothing. You were right about Ari. He is gone. Eli is all but dead to me and the closest thing I have to a father is accusing me….”. Ziva reveals that when she finally killed Ari, it was truly to save Gibbs and she was not following her orders, re-earning Gibbs' trust. In the seventh season episode "Good Cop, Bad Cop", the bodies aboard the Damocles were recovered and Mossad attempted to make Ziva the scapegoat for the death of Staff Sergeant Daniel Cryer, USMC, one of the passengers. After he heard the rest of Ziva's story, Gibbs whispered something to her that is still unknown and kissed her on the forehead. The scene ended with her crying, but smiling. Following investigation into Ziva's role in the events aboard the Damocles Director Vance reconsidered, and approved an exonerated Ziva's application to join NCIS after initially rejecting it. Director Vance handed the approved application to Agent Gibbs who in turn transmitted it to Ziva, whom he called "Probie."
In season 7's final episode Gibbs missed Ziva's citizenship ceremony due to a visit from Alison Hart. She seems to have forgiven this, however, and in the season 8 episode "Dead Air", she asks him to play "catch" with her. In the season 8 episode "Baltimore", after learning that her partner Tony DiNozzo arrested Gibbs when he first met their boss, Ziva comments that she would rather arrest her own father than Gibbs. In the season 9 episode "Safe Harbor", Ziva asks Gibbs if he is lonely and he replies that he couldn't be lonely when he has kids. He then kisses her on the forehead and says "Good night, kid."
Ziva has had a friendly relationship with McGee since her start at NCIS. It resembles one of brother and sister. While Ziva teases McGee a great deal, often with Tony, they remain on friendly terms (Ziva's teasing is far more playful than Tony's, who takes a much more sadistic approach to the pranks he pulls on McGee). McGee was the first person to point out that Ziva was avoiding Tony at the start of season 7 and that sooner or later she would have to straighten out that relationship.
McGee lives near Ziva, in Silver Spring (a Maryland suburb of DC).[4] When Ziva was in Israel between seasons 5 and 6, she and McGee e-mailed each other once a week. McGee has been to Ziva's house at least once, he was invited to her dinner party in season 3. McGee was also the one to show Ziva some ways to work from the area they live, and in return she gave him an apple - which Tony immediately stole before McGee was aware of the gift. Throughout season 7 as Ziva prepares to become an American citizen McGee supports her, even testing her. In season 7 he is with her as she becomes an American citizen.
Originally, Abby hated Ziva. She believed that Ziva was taking the place of her good friend, Special Agent Kate Todd. During the course of her hate, Abby was known to draw on pictures of Ziva, mispronounce her surname and get annoyed when Ziva was being praised. She particularly resented McGee's fascination and admiration for Ziva. Throughout season 3, Abby and Ziva seem to become closer. Ziva helps Abby out putting a bomb back together to find out information from it and Abby is worried about Ziva when she is lost because she and Tony are stuck in a shipping container together. Abby is also invited to Ziva's dinner party before the episode 'Boxed In', and Abby thinks Ziva is an excellent cook. Ziva also remembers Abby's birthday and buys her black roses. At the end of season 3 everything comes to a head and Abby tells Ziva she has no emotions, prompting both women to slap each other. They later apologize after Tony goads them into it, and both women punch him in the arm when he suggests that they should tongue-kiss one another. By season 4, their relationship has grown. Abby is only too willing to help Ziva by giving her Gibbs' telephone number when she needs to contact him and also keeps her secret that she phoned. Abby also tells Ziva that she is always there for her to talk to after Ziva's love interest Roy Sanders dies.
By seasons 5 and 6, Abby and Ziva are firm friends. When Ziva and Tony go to L.A. with the Director, Abby makes a pretend Ziva to keep her company. Abby tells Ziva that she (Ziva) "kicks butt and manages to look great at the same time." In Season 6, Abby misses Ziva while she's in Israel and has Ziva's picture up in her lab so she can still see her every day. When Ziva's house gets fumigated, Abby is only too happy to let Ziva stay at her place, and Ziva buys Abby a special expensive chocolate cupcake to say thank you. The cupcake is then stolen, and Abby sets up an investigation of her own to find out who took it (the culprit turning out to be McGee). At the beginning of season 7, when Ziva returns to NCIS after being rescued from capture in Somalia, Abby is the first one to hug her, but only after Abby tore into Ziva about her mistrust of Tony, which was the first of many actions which led to her being captured in Somalia initially. This causes Ziva to confront Tony, during which she apologizes to him for ever doubting him, and thus repairs the strains in their relationship. In "Faith", the season 7 Christmas episode, Abby makes gingerbread Abby cookies but when she offers one to Ziva, Ziva replies that "[she] could never eat [Abby]".
When Ziva first appeared, she would flinch whenever Abby would hug her, given that she didn't understand why Abby hugged everyone all the time (this stems from Abby's considering the NCIS team her family, and her distress when she senses that any of them are in serious danger); but however, by season 6, Ziva overcame her discomfort of Abby's hugging, and now accepts the hugs with no discomfort and even gives Abby hugs, too.
In the Season 7 finale, Abby is present at Ziva's swearing in ceremony, and supports her as she becomes an American citizen.
Ziva and her father often have a somewhat strained relationship, especially following the death of her half-brother Ari. Ziva calls him Papa or Abba. He was promoted to Director at the end of Season 3. Ziva recalls him taking his children into the forest for 'fun' blindfolded and making them find their own way back.[4] In the episode "Aliyah", Ziva is called home to Israel where her father Eli David, the head of Mossad, says that he does not know if he can trust her and wants her to remain in Israel. She stays in Tel Aviv with her father and Mossad. The episode ends with a cliffhanger in which Ziva is being physically interrogated at a terrorist camp in Somalia by Saleem. It is later revealed her father sent her on this mission despite knowing the risks made it a suicide mission. Following her return to the US, Ziva mentioned her father twice: "Eli is all but dead to me", implying that she no longer wants to be a part of his life, and again when she commented that he taught her to play baseball.
As of Season 8, "Enemies Foreign", Eli David seems to resent his daughter and the choice she made to become a US citizen. Her ordeal in the desert is dismissed as "you are not dead." Gibbs is annoyed that Eli refers to Ziva as "her" and points out "she has a name. Ziva. She has a name," to which he replies, "I know. I gave it to her." Later Ziva questioned his apathy towards the prospect of his own death, saying that a human man would at least feel something, he told her that while he did not have the luxury of expressing his feelings, as he had to constantly put the safety of the nation before everything else, there was once a time when things were different, "when my house was filled with the sound of children laughing." In the following episode he reveals that his wife had left him because she could no longer deal with what he did. Before Eli's departure back to Israel, his relationship with Ziva appears to have somewhat improved, as he is shown to have given her a small Israeli flag and kissed her goodbye.
Ari Haswari is Ziva's older half brother, by her father. At Mossad she was Ari's control officer and when he was accused of shooting Special Agent Caitlin Todd, Ziva flew to America to help him. Their plan was to meet each other in Paris. Eventually Ziva makes the difficult decision to save Gibbs' life when it becomes clear that Ari indeed killed Agent Todd and shoots Ari before he can kill an unarmed Gibbs.[4] However, in the episode "Aliyah", it was revealed that Ziva's father, Eli David, ordered her to kill Ari so she would earn Gibbs' trust.[22] Though Ziva seems to feel that killing Ari was justified, she still expresses a great deal of sadness at his death.
Ziva seems to have a good relationship with Ducky. When she came back to NCIS with Tony and McGee, Ducky was the only one who really had faith in her. In Silver War, their friendship became more permanent when Ziva saved both of them from death at the hands of a murderer. Ducky is often seen sticking up for her when she has quarrels with Tony. She has also been seen going to him for advice and sharing a cup of tea with him. Overall they value each other a lot. When Ziva is sworn in as an American citizen, Ducky is seen there and supporting her, along with McGee and Abby.
In the beginning, like the rest of her colleagues Ziva resents Vance for breaking up Gibbs' team. However he reveals that he has a good reason and she doesn't seem to hold a grudge against her boss. Vance and Ziva went Christmas shopping together at the beginning of 'Silent Night' and seemed to enjoy each other's company. They also share a love for the board game 'Battle Ship.' It is insinuated that she helped him buy Christmas presents for his family as he thanks her for her help after they return from shopping and she replies "I enjoy shopping, especially when it's not my money." Vance also sees Ziva as an attractive woman; in season 5, when he caught McGee looking at pictures of Ziva in a bikini, he said, "Makes me miss California already." Vance is also close to Ziva's father and seems to have a more friendly relationship with Director David than Jenny Shepard did.
One critic discussed the significance of Ziva as an Israeli character on American/Western television: "NCIS...has the rare distinction of being the only mainstream network show (we are aware of) with an Israeli as one of the main characters...In a network television landscape where it is difficult to find many unashamedly Jewish characters (let alone an Israeli) we have a soft spot for Ziva David." The same critic also claimed that her character is more reminiscent of a classic character in an early Israeli kibbutz drama, rather than a typical Israeli of the current day: "In early kibbutz dramas, Ziva's character would have been a Zionist heroine."[23] Another wrote that the character appeals to conservative Americans: "David represents those aspects of the Israeli character that most appeal to middle America: She’s disciplined, self-reliant, good with guns, and skilled in hand-to-hand combat."[24] Another reviewer commented that she was "a surprisingly convincing Israeli agent, given that she is played by a Chilean-born singer from a Catholic family, Cote de Pablo."[25]
On the subject of female characters on live action television shows, one commentator said of the portrayal "With her credible combination (by prime-time standards) of physical domination and quiet cool, Ziva David is one of the most appealing of a growing group of female action heroes who are infiltrating cop shows, spy shows, science-fiction shows and other genres where men once did the lion's share of the enforcing."[26]
On Mossad agents in American films/television, another wrote "Israeli agents on American screens present more extreme pictures of the general types and dilemmas...Ex-Mossad agent Ziva David - whose father, of course, is head of Mossad and who has joined the U.S. Navy criminal investigation branch to liberate herself from her past - is a one-woman army, full of secrets. She is the most positive recurring Israeli character on American television."[27]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||