Niccolo
2ndApril2005, 10:54
Background information on this article:
In 1954, Israeli agents planted bombs in several Egyptian buildings, including a United States diplomatic facility, and left evidence behind implicating Arabs as the culprits. The ruse would have worked, had one of the bombs not detonated prematurely, enabling the Egyptians to identify and round up an Israeli spy ring.
Some of the spies were from Israel, while others were recruited from the local Jewish population. Israel responded to the scandal with claims in the media that there was no spy ring, that it was all a hoax perpetrated by "anti-Semites." But as the public trial progressed, it was evident that Israel had indeed been behind the bombing. Eventually, Israeli's Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon was brought down by the scandal, although it appears that he was himself the victim of a frame-up by the real authors of the bombing project, code named "Operation Susannah."
Direct Link from a Jewish newspaper - Haaretz.com 30/03/2005 (http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/559008.html)
Israel honors Egyptian spies 50 years after fiasco
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifhttp://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifBy Reuters
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifhttp://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifAfter half a century of reticence and recrimination, Israel on Wednesday honored nine Egyptian Jews recruited as agents-provocateur in what became one of the worst intelligence bungles in the country's history.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifhttp://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifIsrael was at war with Egypt when it hatched a plan in 1954 to ruin its rapprochement with the United States and Britain by firebombing sites frequented by foreigners in Cairo and Alexandria.
But Israeli hoped the attacks, which caused no casualties, would be blamed on local insurgents collapsed when the young Zionist bombers were caught and confessed at public trials. Two were hanged. The rest served jail terms and emigrated to Israel.
Embarrassed before the West, the fledgling Jewish state long denied involvement. It kept mum even after its 1979 peace deal with Egypt, fearing memories of the debacle could sour ties.
"Although it is still a sensitive situation, we decided now to express our respect for these heroes," President Moshe Katzav said after presenting the three surviving members of the bomber ring with certificates of appreciation at a Jerusalem ceremony.
What went wrong in the "Lavon Affair" -- after Pinhas Lavon, Israel's defense minister when the plot came to light -- remains a matter of debate in a country more used to tales of espionage coups. The Egyptian Jews were recruited by a fringe unit of Military Intelligence rather than the premier Israeli spy agency Mossad.
The situation recurred in 1985, when U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States for passing military secrets to Israel's scientific liaison office.
"As with Pollard, this (Lavon Affair) was a rogue operation," said David Kimche, a former Mossad deputy chief. "We knew never to go down that road again."
There is a twist to the Egyptian case -- the now widespread belief that the bombers were betrayed to the authorities by their Israeli handler, who turned double-agent.
"The general feeling is that he was the one who caused it all," Kimche said.
Under a veil of secrecy, the handler was tried for contacts with Egyptian intelligence and jailed for 10 years.
Meanwhile, the agents locked up in Egypt were ignored, excluded from several prisoner exchanges with Israel after the wars of 1956 and 1967. Now that they have been officially recognised in Israel, the former agents are campaigning for a full account of their operation to be included in the high-school syllabus.
"This is a great day for all of us, those who were hanged and those who died," said Marcelle Ninio, the only female member of the cell. "We are happy we've got our honour back.
In 1954, Israeli agents planted bombs in several Egyptian buildings, including a United States diplomatic facility, and left evidence behind implicating Arabs as the culprits. The ruse would have worked, had one of the bombs not detonated prematurely, enabling the Egyptians to identify and round up an Israeli spy ring.
Some of the spies were from Israel, while others were recruited from the local Jewish population. Israel responded to the scandal with claims in the media that there was no spy ring, that it was all a hoax perpetrated by "anti-Semites." But as the public trial progressed, it was evident that Israel had indeed been behind the bombing. Eventually, Israeli's Defense Minister Pinhas Lavon was brought down by the scandal, although it appears that he was himself the victim of a frame-up by the real authors of the bombing project, code named "Operation Susannah."
Direct Link from a Jewish newspaper - Haaretz.com 30/03/2005 (http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/559008.html)
Israel honors Egyptian spies 50 years after fiasco
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifhttp://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifBy Reuters
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifhttp://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifAfter half a century of reticence and recrimination, Israel on Wednesday honored nine Egyptian Jews recruited as agents-provocateur in what became one of the worst intelligence bungles in the country's history.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifhttp://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/images/0.gifIsrael was at war with Egypt when it hatched a plan in 1954 to ruin its rapprochement with the United States and Britain by firebombing sites frequented by foreigners in Cairo and Alexandria.
But Israeli hoped the attacks, which caused no casualties, would be blamed on local insurgents collapsed when the young Zionist bombers were caught and confessed at public trials. Two were hanged. The rest served jail terms and emigrated to Israel.
Embarrassed before the West, the fledgling Jewish state long denied involvement. It kept mum even after its 1979 peace deal with Egypt, fearing memories of the debacle could sour ties.
"Although it is still a sensitive situation, we decided now to express our respect for these heroes," President Moshe Katzav said after presenting the three surviving members of the bomber ring with certificates of appreciation at a Jerusalem ceremony.
What went wrong in the "Lavon Affair" -- after Pinhas Lavon, Israel's defense minister when the plot came to light -- remains a matter of debate in a country more used to tales of espionage coups. The Egyptian Jews were recruited by a fringe unit of Military Intelligence rather than the premier Israeli spy agency Mossad.
The situation recurred in 1985, when U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States for passing military secrets to Israel's scientific liaison office.
"As with Pollard, this (Lavon Affair) was a rogue operation," said David Kimche, a former Mossad deputy chief. "We knew never to go down that road again."
There is a twist to the Egyptian case -- the now widespread belief that the bombers were betrayed to the authorities by their Israeli handler, who turned double-agent.
"The general feeling is that he was the one who caused it all," Kimche said.
Under a veil of secrecy, the handler was tried for contacts with Egyptian intelligence and jailed for 10 years.
Meanwhile, the agents locked up in Egypt were ignored, excluded from several prisoner exchanges with Israel after the wars of 1956 and 1967. Now that they have been officially recognised in Israel, the former agents are campaigning for a full account of their operation to be included in the high-school syllabus.
"This is a great day for all of us, those who were hanged and those who died," said Marcelle Ninio, the only female member of the cell. "We are happy we've got our honour back.