Israel Matzav

NZ Prime Minister denies Israeli backpackers were spies

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is denying a story I blogged late Tuesday night, which claimed that four Israelis who were trapped in the Christchurch earthquake last February were Mossad agents.

Speaking to reporters in San Francisco this afternoon, Mr Key said there was a police and SIS investigation because of the rapid way in which the Israelis left the country after the February earthquake.

"In the view of the agencies there was no link between those individuals and the Israeli intelligence agencies."

He said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only once and there no request to facilitate the removal of the Israelis.

...

While there have been reports that one of the Israeli men who was killed in the earthquake had five passports on him, Mr Key said this was incorrect.

Mr Key said his advice was that the man was found with only one passport, of European origin.

The other three people who had been in the van took their own passports with them when they left the country, and handed over the deceased man's Israeli passport to Israeli representatives before departing.

"None of the passports were New Zealand passports," Mr Key said.

But Key's comments have done little to calm the furor. Here's video of him talking to New Zealand reporters in San Francisco on Tuesday, which will give you some idea why the furor has not died down.

Let's go to the videotape.



By the way, a lot of individuals hold more than one passport. I do, as does every member of my family (we all hold US and Israeli passports).

The Southland Times is sticking by its story.

After almost a day of stonewalling, Key confirmed the probe, which involved the spy agency SIS, concluded there was no evidence they were Israeli intelligence agents.

In a carefully worded statement, he also verified a dead Israeli van driver had two passports. Three occupants who escaped the wreckage took their passports back to Israel, he said.

It comes after the defence force confirmed elite SAS troops were in Christchurch's red zone after the disaster - but insisted they weren't dealing with an unaccredited rescue squad.

Key, currently on a visit to the US, said the investigation was triggered by the rapid departure from New Zealand of three Israelis who survived the February 22 quake.

"Security agencies conducted the investigation and found no evidence that the people were anything other than backpackers," he said.

The New Zealand Herald adds:

[Southland Times editor Fred] Tulett told Newstalk ZB the initial information given to him - including the fact that Ofer Mizrahi, who died in the quake when the van he was in was crushed by debris, was carrying extra passports - was checked with other sources, including an intelligence agency source.

Mr Tulett also put the allegations to Israeli Ambassador Shemi Tzur.

"He said he was angry and upset at the suggestions that these were Israeli spies or that any of them were Israeli spies, and that's not surprising of course," Mr Tulett said.

He says there were too many unusual things going on.

Meanwhile, the Jewish community in Wellington, New Zealand, is outraged.

Wellington Regional Jewish Council Chairman David Zwartz said the story was unhelpful.

“We are very pleased to hear the prime minister's statement and we are also disgusted with how the story appeared from the very beginning to be a total beat-up and fabrication,” he told NZPA.

“Really the whole thing, and all the people who commented, were just smearing.”

Unfortunately, blood libels have started from much less. What could go wrong?

Labels: Christchurch earthquake, John Key, Mossad

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:49 AM