Schlaglicht Israel Nr
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Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 04/13 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 13. - 24. Februar 2013 1. Kontroverse um Geheimgefangenen that when the Mossad needs media consultation, it "Prisoner X" can receive the best in this field." Aharon Lapidot, IHY 18.02.13 Der australische Fernsehsender ABC machte einen Fall öffentlich, der seit Wochen für Aufmerksamkeit Some secrets are meant to be kept in den israelischen Medien sorgt: 2010 erhängte "The State of Israel still has plenty of secrets that sich in einem israelischen Gefängnis Ben Zygier, ein should be kept. […] And no, this doesn’t make Israel Mossad-Agent mit australischer und israelischer a dark regime or a dictatorship. […] Staatsbürgerschaft. Über den Grund seiner Inhaftie- The only thing that is more important to me than the rung gibt es nur Mutmaßungen, allerdings scheint public’s right to know, freedom of information and wahrscheinlich, dass er seine Tätigkeiten nicht aus- democracy, is the very existence of our country. […] reichend geheim gehalten hatte. Er wurde auch in Therefore, […] I agree that when the publication of a Verbindung mit einer Krise in den Beziehungen specific item would constitute a real danger to na- beider Länder gebracht, nachdem israelische Agen- tional security, to people’s lives or to the country’s ten sich offenbar australische Pässe verschafft vital foreign relations, it is preferable that the item hatten. Aufmerksamkeit erhielt der Fall nun, weil die not be published." Isolationshaft Zygiers – bis dahin "Prisoner X" ge- Ben Caspit, JPO 14.02.13 nannt – in Israel strengster Geheimhaltung unterlag. Auch nach der Veröffentlichung in Australien war die Time to break the censorship rules israelische Presse zunächst an eine Nachrichten- "Israeli censorship laws are well outdated and just sperre gebunden, die in Israel kontrovers diskutiert plain wrong. wird, jedoch bei Themen mit Sicherheitsbezug nicht First, from an effectiveness standpoint, the over- selten ist. zealous censorship measures are outdated and even counter-effective. […] It seems that the gag Dial 1-800-4Mossad order had in fact the reverse effect. It generated "From the legal standpoint, it seems the Mossad even more attention towards the case […]. conducted itself impeccably […], whereas its PR in Transparency in such a case would be strength, not the case was, to say the least, unsettling. […] weakness. Here again, the cover-up just makes it all Prisoner X received legal counsel from at least four much worse and gives the impression that the State different attorneys; his case was presented in front is trying to hide a mistake. […] of a court of law, eventually in front of the Supreme Brave Israeli MKs should challenge the censorship Court; his family received word of his incarceration system and break it, and not fear being tagged as and Jerusalem updated Canberra at the outset of 'harming Israeli security' or treasonous. National the affair. […] These facts pulled the rug out from security is not just an issue of physical defense. Our under all the detractors [but] […] it happened too values upon which we would like to mold Israel are late. […] also of the utmost importance to our security." I am far from saying that the Mossad ought to di- Mati Gil, TOI 13.02.13 vulge its undercover operations. […] Hiring a spokesperson does not imply that news stations will Things more sacred than public proceedings be flooded with press releases. What it means is "Is democracy severely compromised when a man is held in prison under a fictitious name? Not if doing 1 so protects the lives of other agents. […] The pub- because it’s the Mossad and not the CIA, and be- licity of proceedings principle is not more sacred cause Zygier was a Jew, that the affair has been than the lives of Mossad agents, and a prisoner can referred to in terms of a 'betrayal' or 'double dealing.' be held under a false name if his family is notified of The sheer vindictiveness of these accusations his arrest and he receives due legal representation, brings us to the broader charge of 'dual loyalty' even if his trial takes place behind closed doors." against Jewish Australians and other Diaspora Aryeh Eldad, IHY 17.02.13 Jews. […] Zygier is one man, and whatever he did or did not Prisoner X do should not be used to impugn the loyalty of all "MKs Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta’al), Zehava Jews. […] The dual loyalty canard always contains Gal-On (Meretz) and Dov Henin (Hadash), who elements of anti-Semitism." used their parliamentary immunity to bypass the gag Gabriel Sassoon, HAA 22.02.13 order and broke the news about Prisoner X in the Knesset might have been genuinely interested in ASIO 'burned' Zygier investigating the ethical questions surrounding the "Most infuriating is the fact that people who worked incident. for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization None of us should accept with equanimity that in (ASIO) purposely got the Mossad operative in hot Israel of 2013 a man can be arrested, imprisoned, water and indirectly contributed to his decision to die in prison and simply disappear without the wider commit suicide. […] public knowing anything about it. But as members of Seemingly, there was no reason for Australia to act the opposition, it seemed that the three were no less against Zygier because he did not commit any acts interested in exploiting the imbroglio to attack the of espionage on its soil or collect any information on government and further their own political agendas." the country. […] JPO 14.02.13 Editorial The question is why ASIO leaked the story to the press. By doing so, the agency knew it was 'burning' When immunity is used for evil an Australian citizen and putting at risk the life of a "One thing is certain: The gag order on the Zygier colleague from a friendly intelligence service that case was imposed legally, fully authorized by the assisted Australia, directly and indirectly. Did the law, via court judges. […] In principle, I strongly ASIO receive authorization to leak the story, or was believe that the decision-makers in the security it a vengeful anti-Israeli act initiated by one or sev- establishment and the political and legal system are eral people in the agency who acted independent- human beings and, as such, are not infallible. […] ly?" What can be said, however, is that the MK's from Ron Ben-Yishai, JED 17.02.13 the radical Left — Ahmad Tibi, Dov Khenin and Zehava Gal-On — displayed contempt for the law Fatal isolation and willfully violated the court's decisions when they "In the heat of the public debate over the fate of Ben spoke on live Knesset television […] with details Zygier, one fatal detail has been as good as forgot- about the Zygier case. Later they explained that in ten: He was held, needlessly and scandalously, in such cases, they enjoy complete immunity, despite solitary confinement for months on end. Keeping a violating a gag order. […] human being in isolation for a prolonged period is It seems only appropriate that we adopt a political unbearable torture that causes irreversible emotion- system that respects the law, in which MKs set a al and physical injury has been nearly forgotten. […] personal example by respecting the law as well." If Zygier did kill himself, it can be assumed that his Uri Heitner, IHY 17.02.13 suicide was directly related to his isolation. […] Treason or spying, rape or murder, whatever the Assault on Australian Jewry crime, this inhuman punishment cannot be allowed "Zygier isn’t alleged to have worked to undermine to go on in a state that considers itself enlightened." Australian interests abroad. […] The […] reaction Gideon Levy, HAA 17.02.13 from certain elements in the Australian media would drive anyone to believe Zygier had stolen nuclear codes and defected to North Korea. Clearly the Mossad has no monopoly on the use of foreign passports for espionage, but it seems clear that 2 2. Stand der Koalitionsverhandlun- racist or anti-democratic bill […], she also got a gen license to deal with […] the Palestinians. […] Where will this lead to? We can guess that as long Mehr als ein Monat ist vergangen, seit Premier Ne- as Netanyahu is prime minister, it will lead to noth- tanyahu mit dem Bündnis Likud-Yisrael Beitenu als ing, nada. But Livni will be able at least to say she stärkste Kraft aus den Wahlen hervorgegangen ist, tried. […] Netanyahu […] will use her as whitewash." doch die Bildung einer Regierungskoalition ist ihm Yossi Verter, HAA 20.02.13 noch nicht gelungen. Bisher hat er mit nur einer Partei einen Koalitionsvertrag unterzeichnet – mit Tzipi Livni did the right thing Tzipi Livnis HaTnuah. Die Ex-Außenministerin, die "What else was she supposed to do? […] As a cen- mit ihrer neuen Partei nur sechs Mandate gewonnen trist party of only six seats […] Hatnua out of gov- hat, hatte zuvor zu Netanyahus schärfsten Kritike- ernment would have been wholly ineffectual. Livni rinnen gezählt. Als erster Koalitionspartner hat sie could not model her party on Meretz, who also have sich nun das Amt der Justizministerin gesichert. six seats but whose raison d’être is a social demo- Außerdem wird sie Chefunterhändlerin in den Ver- cratic, ecologist, and egalitarian platform that is handlungen mit den Palästinensern. anathema to Likudniks. Zahava Gal-On’s principal Ein Koalitionsbeitritt der zweitstärksten Partei Yesh mandate, therefore, is to oppose Netanyahu. This is Atid unter der Führung Yair Lapids scheiterte bisher not the case for Livni’s centrist movement – an hauptsächlich einem Thema: Der Armeedienst opposition would have been death to her party, and für Ultra-Orthodoxe. Bisher waren religiöse Männer her political career […]. und Frauen vom Armeedienst freigestellt.