Premier Yitzhak Rabin told the Cabinet Sunday that there was no justification on grounds of national interest, or for any other substantive reason to permit the publication of the verdict in the trial of Avri El-Ad, known as “the third man” in the 1954 security mishap that led to the “Lavon affair.” All the ministers agreed with him.
During the Cabinet meeting, Rabin, it was learned, severely criticized the former Chief of Intelligence, Isser Harel, for revealing details about various conflicts within the intelligence community at the time of the Lavon affair. The Premier was referring to interviews given by Harel to Israel TV and the daily “Haaretz.”
The interview with Harel, and the discussion of the Lavon affair in the Cabinet followed the recent publication in the United States of El-Ad’s book, “Decline of Honor,” in which he criticizes the intelligence community.
EL-AD GOES PUBLIC
El-Ad was the leader of the Israeli spy ring in Egypt which was captured while attempting to sabotage American and British installations in Cairo and Alexandria. In his book he charges that the military establishment falsely placed the blame on Pinhas Lavon, who was then the Defense Minister, for the aborted attempt.
El-Ad also says that he was arrested and charged with security violations after he decided to testify that Lavon was innocent. He contends that his conviction was based on what he insists was false testimony by Harel. During the Lavon controversy, El-Ad was referred to as “the third man” since his arrest and conviction were in secret.
Rabin told the Cabinet that as former Chief of Intelligence Harel should not have revealed so many details of things which happened “not so long ago.” The Premier was replying to a question from Interior Minister Yosef Burg who asked him if the government considered publishing the files of El-Ad’s trial.
A small number of prominent citizens, led by Harel, have demanded publicity so that El-Ad can be tried in the wake of alleged distortions in his book about the 1954 mishap in Egypt and his subsequent trial on other security charges for which he finally served 10 years in prison.
PROSECUTION UP TO ATTORNEY GENERAL
At the Cabinet meeting, Rabin also said that it was entirely up to the Attorney General to decide whether to prosecute El-Ad because of secrets he may have revealed in his new book. It was not a matter for the government to decide, he said.
Rabin said that the verdict in El-Ad’s trial in the Jerusalem District Court on charges unrelated to the 1954 mishap was secret on grounds of state security, as the court itself had ruled at the time. The government had the right to request the court to allow the publication of the trial proceedings, Rabin conceded, but there was no reason to do so.
El-Ad now lives in California, and parts of his book are being printed in “Haaretz.” The original version of the book, in English, is for sale in all book shops here.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
