During questioning, the haredi man, a member of the virulently anti-Zionist Neturei Karta sect, confessed that he spied for Iran “out of a
hatred for the state of Israel and in exchange for financial
compensation,” the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service,
reportedly said.
Haredi Man Charged With Spying For Iran
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A 47-year-old haredi man was charged earlier today with spying on Israel for Iran, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The man, a member of the virulently anti-Zionist Naturei Karta sect, was charged with intent to commit treason and contacting a foreign agent.
A gag order reportedly forbids publication of the haredi man’s identity.
The man used the Internet to choose a location to approach the Iranians. He then flew to Berlin in January 2011 and two days after arriving there he went to the Iranian Embassy. He allegedly told them he was an Israeli, said that he opposed the Zionist state and said he wanted it to be conquered by non-Jews. He offered to gather intelligence for Iran and said he would even kill a “Zionist” if necessary.
He allegedly did all this dressed in his regular haredi clothing.
After he returned to Israel, he communicated with the Iranian officials through an email account that he accessed from public internet cafes. He also used public phones near his Jerusalem home to call them.
He was reportedly arrested earlier this month, two years after he began spying for Iran.
During questioning, the man confessed that he spied for Iran “out of a hatred for the state of Israel and in exchange for financial compensation,” the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, reportedly said.
Neturei Karta has previously sent delegations to attend conferences in Iran, and its leaders met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on several occasions.
A Neturei Karta delegation reportedly also met with Hezbollah leaders last year in Beirut.