News Compass

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Nine Israelis deported from CANADA:
Canadian spy agency suspects they may be Israeli spy agents

Their names: Ienav Sofer, Amit Yedudai, Rani Rahuhim Katsov, Roy Laniado, Shulamit Gorelik, Anatoly Belnik, Koby Cole, Sharon Moskovitz and Yafit Avram.

Posting Note: The following article was pulled by the Ottawa Sun for unknown reasons within hours of posting. It is reprinted here for fair use purposes. © 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.

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Ottawa Sun

September 19, 2003

By JOHN STEINBACHS and ANDREW SEYMOUR

NINE Israeli nationals -- who[m] CSIS suspects are possible foreign agents -- were arrested by Immigration and Ottawa police tactical officers last Friday, blocks from Parliament Hill.

The nine have all been charged by Immigration for working in Canada illegally.

All are in their 20s and were apparently selling art in Ottawa. The arrests follow similar takedowns of Israelis in Toronto and Calgary over the past few weeks.

An Ottawa police source said police were told members of the group were possible agents from Mossad, Israel's spy agency, but given no further information by CSIS.

CSIS declined to comment yesterday.

All nine have since been released and are staying in several rooms at a Lisgar St. apartment-hotel.

Citizenship and Immigration spokesman Rejean Cantlon confirmed that nine Israelis were arrested last Friday for working in Canada without a permit. Immigration hearings were held Wednesday and nine exclusion orders were issued.

No weapons

Ienav Sofer, Amit Yedudai, Rani Rahuhim Katsov, Roy Laniado, Shulamit Gorelik and Anatoly Belnik received exclusion orders for two years for working without authorization and misrepresentation. Koby Cole, Sharon Moskovitz and Yafit Avram were issued exclusion orders for one year.

All will be deported as soon as paperwork is ready, likely within the next few weeks, Cantlon said.

They were arrested with the help of tactical and patrol officers Friday between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

No weapons were found in their rooms.

Yesterday, eight were found walking down Lisgar St., but offered no comment when asked if they were Israeli art students.

This is not the first time students selling art in Ottawa have caused concern with law enforcement.

In 2001, Centrepointe residents complained of foreign students selling paintings in their neighourhood that turned out to be fakes.

"We're outraged"

The story of Israeli art students peddling paintings in foreign countries has been reported in the media and on the Internet in the past.

U.S. reports have alleged that groups of students had been trying to sell art in federal government buildings, prompting concerns about intelligence gathering, but no proof has ever been found linking the art peddlers with espionage.

"I keep seeing these things and looking into them, I really don't know how credible they are," said former CSIS chief of strategic planning David Harris. "Certainly it would be extremely surprising if such an outfit would repeat a (technique) in that sort of way."

Israeli Embassy spokesman Ben Forer said the matter is being treated very seriously.

"These are illegal workers ... we're outraged by this," he said. "We expect Israeli citizens that would like to work in Canada to equip themselves with the appropriate work permits before they come to Canada."

Forer laughed when asked if the arrests had anything to do with terrorism or if the nine are agents of Mossad -- whose operatives have been known in the past to favour using bogus Canadian passports.

"We don't know full details about what the paintings were but it was a completely commercial matter," Forer said.

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READ HERE article and Links on suspicious Israeli arts students in USA in 2001: " Suspicious Activities Involving Israeli Art Students at DEA Facilities"

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Excerpt from Justin Raimondo's article " Another 9/11 ?"

"...Yes, folks, those Israeli "art students" – you know, the ones who attempted to penetrate U.S. government facilities in the months leading up to 9/11, showed up at the homes of federal employees, and were said to be watching the 9/11 hijackers 24/7 – have popped up yet again, this time in Canada:

Headlined "Nine Israelis face deportation: Spy agency suspects they may be foreign agents," this story appeared in the Ottawa Sun, on Friday, September 19 – and disappeared from the paper's website completely in less than a day, unlike the Sun's other articles, which are archived and available.

Here is the Google cache. Check it out before it disappears, (News Compass note: it actually disappeared as predicted) just like Carl Cameron's December 2001 series on the same subject.

In Cameron's case, this disappearing act was the result of outside pressure and a campaign of calumniation against Fox's crack investigative reporter: Israel's amen corner hissed that Cameron was disqualified as an objective reporter because he spent his youth in a Muslim country.

In the case of the Ottawa Sun, it's a case of Izzy Asper strikes again.

The owner of Canada's largest newspaper chain is famous for his directive that NO criticism of Israel be printed in his newspapers, leading to resignations and increasing resentment of media monopolism via mega-mergers.

It's the suspicion that won't die – no matter how many times, and in how many different ways, they try to kill it.

Cameron broke the story on Fox News – hardly a nexus of anti-Israeli sentiment – amid the apocalyptic tumult of '01, and it has survived in spite of numerous attempts to debunk it and smear anyone who gives it credence. Cameron's words echo down through the years, haunting us as we observe, uneasily, the second anniversary of our misfortune:

"There is no indication that the Israelis were involved in the 9-11 attacks, but investigators suspect that the Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the attacks in advance, and NOT shared it. A highly placed investigator said there are – quote – 'tie-ins.' But when asked for details, he flatly refused to describe them, saying, – quote – 'evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is classified.'"

How much access the U.S. will have, under these circumstances, to Israel's worldwide surveillance of Islamist groups, is a matter of pure speculation, but I'm willing to bet it falls far short of total.

It is more than merely frightening to imagine what the reappearance of these enigmatic "art students" portends.

Two years ago, their mysterious invasion of American shores augured the worst terrorist attack in American history. Does their sudden emergence in Canada signal a similar disaster in the near future?

God help us all."