New Zealand jails alleged Israeli spies

Why would fraud cause such a strong diplomatic response? The answer may have to do with the value of an New Zealand passport.

In a July 4 article, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported that "intelligence specialists in New Zealand, including one individual who said he had once worked for the Mossad, said in interviews that the members of a group associated with the case had been working systematically for years to obtain New Zealand passports, which are considered 'door-openers' and do not arouse suspicion in the Arab world."

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Writing for the US libertarian-leaning website Antiwar.com about the arrest of the two Israelis last spring, editorial director Justin Raimondo asserts that New Zealand passports "are very much sought after and highly prized on the black market, especially by terrorists, on account of the visa-free access they provide to a wide range of destinations, including the US."

In her comments Thursday, Clark pointed to Mossad's past connection with false passports and assassination attempts. "Israeli agents caught in an unsuccessful assassination attempt in Jordan in 1997 were found to be carrying fraudulent Canadian passports," she said.

Urie Zoshe Kelman and Eli Cara were arrested in March after they "tried to collect a passport in the name of a New Zealand national who is a wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy victim," reports The Scotsman. At an earlier hearing they both admitted to trying to fraudulently obtain a passport, but have denied working for Mossad.

The Australian reports that the two pleaded guilty earlier this month to illegally obtaining a passport for another Israeli, Zev Barkan, who fled to Sydney before he could be apprehended.

Ms. Clark said she believes the two men were Israeli intelligence agents and that the case was "far more than simple criminal behavior by two individuals," reports the BBC. "New Zealand condemns without reservation these actions by agencies of the Israel government," she said.

"The New Zealand government views the act carried out by the Israeli intelligence agents as not only utterly unacceptable but also a breach of New Zealand sovereignty and international law." Clark said the actions of the men and those of the Israeli government had "seriously strained relations" with New Zealand.

Clark also said she would suspend government visits to Israel, Israeli officials would need visas to enter New Zealand, and foreign ministry contacts would be suspended, reports BBC. Clark said that New Zealand would refuse any request for Israel's President Moshe Katsav to visit later this year when he is due to go to Australia, because Israel had ignored requests made three months ago for an explanation and an apology, reports The Associated Press.

Arutz Sheva of Israel reports that Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom expressed sorrow over Clark's decision, and said that Israel would take steps towards restoring relations with New Zealand. The popular Israeli news source also quotes Alon Liel, former Director-General of the Foreign Ministry, as having said that Israel must protest the diplomatic sanctions, "for if not, it's a silent admission that the two men worked for the Mossad."

The Australian reports that the rebuke is "New Zealand's toughest diplomatic stance since it broke official relations with France over the 1985 Rainbow Warrior bombing, when two French secret agents were convicted of manslaughter for blowing up the Greenpeace ship in Auckland harbor."

[Clark] vowed there would be no repeat of Wellington's 1985 agreement with Paris, under which two French agents convicted of the fatal bombing were quietly allowed to leave the country. "There will be no deals this time," the Prime Minister said.

New Zealand's Jewish community is "reacting with both embarrassment and concern" to Clark's decision to impose sanctions on Israel, reports The Jerusalem Post. The Post quotes Mike Regan, editor of The New Zealand Jewish Chronicle, as saying: "New Zealand is not particularly friendly to Israel."

"[Regan] said Clark's decision has more to do with the possibility of Mossad being in the country than it does with the men's attempt to obtain illegal passports." The Post continues:

'Clark imposed her own judgment. She's trying a different case here,' he said, adding that there is no strong evidence that the two men are actually secret agents. ... 'It lowers the standing of Jews in New Zealand and adds support to the Palestinian cause,' Regan said. New Zealand has donated in the past hundreds of thousands of dollars to a United Nations body that aids Palestinian refugees.

Also...
• Israel set up Singapore's army, former officers reveal ( Ha'aretz, Israel)
• Spies? Even Maxwell Smart wouldn't believe it ( The Australian)
• Saudi system 'abuses foreigners' ( BBC)
• The CIA's Prisoners ( The Washington Post)
• Acting chief insists agencies aren't at fault in war debate ( The New York Times)

• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Matthew Clark.