April 24, 2007: Israel
went public with news of an Iranian effort to recruit Israelis of Iranian
origin, to spy on Israel for Iran. Israel has detected at least ten Iranian
attempts to recruit Israelis as spies. This is possible because, although Iran
wants Israel destroyed, Iran still allows Israelis of Iranian origin to return
and visit kin in Iran. There are still 25,000 Jews in Iran, and 135,000
Israelis of Iranian origin. In the last two years, about a hundred Israelis
have returned to Iran to visit family. The classic method of recruitment, used
by the Iranians, is to threaten kin in Iran with harm (imprisonment, torture,
death) if the Israeli does not supply information. Apparently, several of the
Israelis, reported the Iranian recruiting attempt to the Israeli government.
It's not illegal for
Israelis to travel to Iran, although it's common knowledge that Iran is not a
hospitable place for Jews, Israelis or Westerners in general. Israelis usually
go to the nearest Iranian embassy (usually Turkey) to take care of the
paperwork. While applying for an Iranian passport, they are questioned on what
they do for a living, and what they did while in the Israeli armed forces. Some
Israelis have reported this to their government, and the Iranian espionage situation
has been watched carefully for some time.
