Deported Diplomat named

That is interesting because an Israeli newspaper, Arutz Sheva, gives the name as "Ilan Lati".

Lati was "Second Secretary" a designation that could mean anything from "general dogsbody" to "mossad agent and we are not going to tell you what he does".

He had worked in the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Australia for about 18 months. During that time he was involved in flying to Auckland, New Zealand, to the aid of Israeli citizens who had been arrested in a passport scam.

So far, so good. That is a perfectly legitimate thing for an embassy official to do, even for regular citizens who have gotten into trouble in a foreign country.

But from Canberra to Auckland is a long way to fly (roughly equivalent distance is Chicago to Los Angles).

Why would he have flown so far when Israel had a perfectly good Honorary Consul, named David Zwartz, waiting in Wellington?

There had to be something more going on than mere diplomatic concern over a couple of fellow citizens in trouble at the bottom of the world.

And there was.

Soon after beginning inquiries, police learned that one of the arrested men, Eli Cara, particularly, was a regular visitor to New Zealand, having traveled there 24 times between October 2000 and March 2004. That is roughly once every six weeks.

He used two Israeli passports, the second a replacement. Cara claimed to be a travel agent and to operate a Sydney travel agency. But inquiries by the New Zealand Herald indicate it does not exist.

So if he wasn't a travel agent what was he doing?

And why was the Israeli embassy so concerned about his imprisonment that, instead of using their man on the spot, they chose to fly one of their own "top guns" in from Australia.

Clearly "Lati", to use the name he is known by to the Australians, had a much deeper involvement with the imprisoned Israelis than mere consular concern.

People smuggling, the growth criminal industry of the 21st century would certainly account for twenty-four round trips from Australia to New Zealand.

Whatever the truth in the matter, "Lati" was clearly no regular consular official "just doing his job".

Throughout most of 2004 there was no Israeli ambassador in Canberra.

So when trouble struck it was the acting ambassador, Orna Sagiv, who had to do Tel Aviv's dirty work constantly denying that the Israelis implicated in the passport scam were acting on behalf of the Israeli government.

But then "Lati's" role in the affair was uncovered. Time to send in the big guns.

In December 2004 Orna Sagiv was back in Israel, "on vacation". While she was out of the way a previous ambassador, Gabby Levy, returned to the Canberra embassy for a month.

During his time in office Levy had made particular efforts to get along with Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer and the two regularly played tennis, even if he did overstep the mark from time to time by trying to dictate the programs played on an Australian Television network.

But the reason for his sudden re-appearance had nothing to do with TV, tennis, or a few weeks in the Australian summer sun. The Israelis knew that the "shit was about to hit the fan – big time" as the Australians so colorfully put it and they were determined to mitigate the disaster.

Australia had been surprisingly close to Israel, diplomatically speaking. It was the only major country, other than the United States, to vote against a UN resolution backing the International Court of Justice's demand that Israel demolish the "security wall" which snakes across Palestinian lands.

It seems that closeness is about to be shattered. You can only push the Ozzies so far. The Israelis seem to have forgotten that while a kangaroo looks cute and cuddly, they have a really vicious kick.

On February 28, 2005 The Adelaide Advertiser reported that "recalled Israeli diplomat Amir Laty will be posted to another embassy within weeks after an internal investigation in Jerusalem cleared him of espionage during his time in Australia.

"Mr Laty's new posting, barely two months after he was recalled from his consular post in Canberra amid widespread claims he was a spy, is a public demonstration of support for the diplomat by Israeli officials who claim they still do not know why the Australian Government asked him to leave."

The government of any country to which Amir Laty is posted should certainly be on their guard.

A self-serving piece from an Israeli, published in the Australian Feb, 28, 2005