Posted on 02/13/2005 10:03:39 PM PST by BlackVeil
Sex scandal past haunts new envoy
Israeli Amir Laty was told to leave Australia last month, but just why is hard to pin down, reports Cynthia Banham.
At first blush the secretive expulsion of an Israeli diplomat from Canberra a month ago had all the makings of a James Bond movie - there were claims of espionage, liaisons with women, and plenty of intrigue.
But as the real story behind the banishment of Amir Laty slowly unfolds, it is unclear whether what took place was an audacious attempt by a foreign agent to breach high-level Australian intelligence, or more a case of a mid-range diplomat who fancied himself a 007-come-Casanova, but in the end got it all wrong.
It all began when Laty, aged in his early 30s, was quietly told a few weeks ago to leave Australia. There wasn't a murmur from the Federal Government at the time, and when news of his expulsion broke late last Friday night, via a report in the Israeli newspaper, Ma'ariv, the Government refused to answer any questions about his departure. It wouldn't even confirm he had left the country. The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said "this is an issue that we've chosen not to comment on".
Government officials acknowledge they had been told that if the Israeli news stories reached Australia - as they inevitably would - their response was to be "no comment".
The Israeli embassy was only slightly more forthcoming - it said the diplomat had "finished his posting". Then over the course of last week a few details of Laty's sudden departure, 18 months into his posting, emerged.
The Israeli media report had claimed the expulsion was set in train after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade summoned a senior embassy official and requested the immediate recall of the "consul".
If Israel didn't withdraw its diplomat voluntarily, the report said the official was warned, steps would be taken to declare Laty persona non grata and deport him.
Shortly after Laty left the country, leaving friends baffled by his departure.
When the Federal Opposition asked the Department of Foreign Affairs for an explanation on why Laty was banished, it was told to ask ASIO, Australia's domestic spy agency. That the agency was involved confirmed speculation the expulsion was related to national security. Eventually, official sources told the Herald espionage was part of the reason Laty was kicked out.
Reports subsequently emerged that Laty might have tried to penetrate "highly sensitive Australian intelligence".
The original theory, that because Laty had visited New Zealand last year, there must have been some connection to the jailing in that country of two alleged Mossad agents for passport fraud, began to look doubtful.
The imprisonment of Uriel Zoshe Kelman and Eli Cara - the latter had connections to Australia and rented a house in Turramurra - sparked a diplomatic scandal in New Zealand. The Prime Minister, Helen Clark, demanded an apology from the Israeli Government.
Clark, unlike her Australian counterpart, refused to brush the affair under the carpet, and relations between Israel and New Zealand remain strained.
Suggestions that Laty's indiscretions or "out of hours activities," as one official put it, have also emerged.
A number of women who met Laty on Canberra's social circuit had seen the news of his departure, and the penny had dropped that this was the same man who had unsettled them with his unwanted attentions and persistent phone calls. The women had thought at the time his behaviour might have just come down to cultural difference - but they were unnerved nevertheless. Then a report emerged yesterday that Laty had a relationship in Canberra with a woman who worked for the Defence Department.
Whatever the real reason behind Laty's departure, the controversy dogging the Israeli embassy in Canberra is not about to go away. This is particularly so now it has emerged Laty's replacement could be Arie Scher, a former diplomat to Brazil who left hurriedly after becoming embroiled in a sex scandal.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has defended Scher against the claims, which it describes as simply untrue. Scher's posting hasn't yet been confirmed. Israel's President, Moshe Katsav, is due to visit Australia at the end of the month.
"007-come-Casanova"
I think that should be written "007-cum-Casanova" if what they mean is "with" or "in combination with".
ER ... um ... maybe.
I think that the article is leaving a lot unsaid.
Regardless, the correct way is punnier.
I suspect the editor decided that he'd better not...
Almost Israeli every where is accused of being a Mossad agent.
That works well with the Mossad as it provides many more plimps on the radar screen.
As for sex - Israeli men are aggressive.
And if this Israeli penetrated anything more than a foreign intel system - good for him :>
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