Espionage amateur hour

It's difficult to get excited about the story of the haredi man who offered to spy on Israel for Iran. In the world of real spies he would never even have been allowed in the introductory course for amateurs. Every step he made was clumsy and suspicious. It almost goes without saying that his Iranian contacts probably suspected him of actually being a double agent.

His ability to cause any damage was also negligible. The Naturei Karta community in Meah Shearim in which he resides is far removed from the defense and security world and from the secrets that are of interest to our enemies. In recent days we have come across a few tall tales published on the web about a spy ring the suspect allegedly operated, and of valuable information which he passed to his handlers -- everything from ties to politicians and classified missile plans. Whoever read these accounts would be likely to think we had another Marcus Klingberg on our hands, at the very least.

None of these tales were true, of course, except for one basic fact: An extremist haredi man, a resident of Meah Shearim in Jerusalem, was arrested after volunteering to spy for the Iranians. During his interrogation by the Israel Security Agency -- according to the indictment -- not only does the evidence tie him to the act, so does his basic personality profile.

Considering all the circumstances, there is no doubt that the state must prosecute him, because contact with Iranian representatives took place and the suspect intended to act to harm Israel.

And still, aside from the formal legal proceedings, it is doubtful that anything can be gleaned here about the real world of espionage. Real agents are far less clumsy, and intelligence agencies, in Iran as well, strive to activate spies who are a little more effective and valuable. The only factor that is totally true to life is that in Neturei Karta there are elements who actively seek to hurt the country they live in.

The bottom line is this is a trivial affair involving a very small fish, and the only important thing we can take from it is that Israel's security and intelligence services are sharp and discerning.

Even without knowing what the suspect did to tip off the authorities (his trip to Berlin, the meeting at the Iranian Embassy, an email address or phone conversation), and despite the affair being of a trivial nature, evidently someone was on their guard and sharp enough to home in on the suspect -- and put an end to his plans.

Along with the unambiguous lack of tolerance for acts of espionage -- small or big -- there is a clear message here that should serve as a deterrent, or at least as an obstacle, to real spies (the dangerous kind) in the future.

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