Three Israeli diplomatic officials believed to have been associated with Jonathan Pollard’s espionage activities in the U.S. have refused to appear before the Cabinet-appointed committee investigating the government’s role in the Pollard affair on grounds that they might incriminate themselves.
The officials are Yosef Yagur, former Scientific Attache at the Israel Consulate General in New York; Ilan Ravid, former aide to the Scientific Attache at the Embassy in Washington; and Irit Erb, a former secretary at the Scientific Attache’s office. The three left the U.S. immediately after Pollard was arrested by federal agents in 1985.
Their lawyer, David Libai, stated in a letter to Premier Yitzhak Shamir Wednesday that his clients would not appear because “their rights will not be safeguarded.”
It was the first setback suffered by the two-man body consisting of Tel Aviv lawyer Yehoshua Rotenstreich and Gen. (Res.) Zvi Tsur, a former Chief of Staff, and it may prove fatal. Rotenstreich made it clear that the investigation could not proceed without the full cooperation of all parties concerned.
The committee, established by the Inner Cabinet last week, has no powers of subpoena and cannot require witnesses to testify under oath. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has said the government would abide by its recommendations, though not required to by law.
The panel has been criticized as toothless. Opposition MK Yossi Sarid remarked Wednesday that “either there will be an investigation or else it is going to be a farce.”
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