Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 19:57:21 -0400 From: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor) Subject: Mossad wants book on Israel-Iran ties banned To: freematt@coil.com (Matthew Gaylor)
Tuesday, June 5, 2001 Mossad wants book on Israel-Iran ties banned
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=06/05 /01&id=120646
By Yossi Melman Ha'aretz Correspondent
The head of the Mossad opposes the publication of a book written by a former operative in Tehran about Israel's relations with Iran during the regime of the Shah. This, despite the fact that it has been okayed by the military censor and a ministerial committee.
Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy has made it clear to the book's author, Eliezer Zafrir, that he will bar him from entering the Mossad compound in Pi Glilot if the book is indeed published. Halevy said he is doing everything in his power to stop its publication.
Zafrir headed the Mossad's office in Tehran in 1979 - the Shah's last year in power and the year that Ayatollah Khomeni rose to power following the Islamic revolution. He thus witnessed the breakdown of relations between the two former allies and the dramatic airlift of Israeli diplomats and Mossad agents in American helicopters from Tehran to Turkey.
Zafrir continued to work for the Mossad before going to serve as then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's adviser on Arab affairs in the mid-1980s.
After his retirement, he was employed on a special contract with the Mossad, as were other pensioners, and was involved in collecting historical information and compiling information on the organization. The resulting files are used during Mossad courses as case studies and background information.
Zafrir wrote a book two years ago on Israel's relations with the Kurdish rebels during the 1960s and 1970s. Halevy warned Zafrir back then that he would not be allowed into the Mossad's compound any more because of the book and Halevy has now issued this warning again.
Halevy and other Mossad officials claim that Zafrir "refreshed his memory" while compiling the historic files for the agency.
Zafrir denies this and says that his book has already been approved by the military censor and the ministerial committee on publications. He says that his book is already in the advanced stages of publication and has vowed to come to an understanding with the Mossad.
C copyright 2001 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
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