Two Israelis Charged in Arms Sale Conspiracy Deny Involvement

Two of six Israelis charged by U.S. authorities with conspiracy to sell more than $2 billion in American weapons illegally to Iran, denied in Jerusalem Tuesday that they were in any way involved in a clandestine plot.

Yitzhak Lombrozo, a lawyer, and Yitzhak Hevroni, an ordained rabbi who is financial officer of the Hebron Yeshiva, are among 17 men of six nationalities who were arrested or had warrants issued against them in New York on April 22.

Also named in the charges by U.S. Federal Prosecutor Rudolph Giuliani were Israel and Guri Eisenberg, a father and son who head the Bazalet International Trading Co. (BIT) in Jerusalem, a firm the U.S. says was implicated in the alleged conspiracy. Hevroni is treasurer of BIT.

Arrested in Bermuda April 22 were a retired Israel Defense Force general, Avraham Baram, and William Northrop, who holds dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship. They allegedly flew to the British colony to finalize the arms deal and are being held on charges of violating immigration regulations, pending extradition to the U.S.

CITES LAWFUL TRADE

Lombrozo, identified as “Humposa” in reports from the U.S., is a partner in the Jerusalem law firm of Hadani and Lombrozo. He stepped forward Tuesday to acknowledge that he had drawn up the incorporation papers for BIT last February and insisted it was a legitimate firm engaged in lawful trade.

According to Lombrozo, he also drafted the documents for the arms deal, which he said stated explicitly that any transaction was conditional on authorization by the U.S. and Israeli governments. “It was only a $400 million deal,” Lombrozo said, adding that he had no idea where the $2.5 billion figure mentioned in the American charges came from.

Lombrozo and Hevroni said Tuesday that they have not been notified by U.S. authorities of any action pending against them. Hevroni said he handled BIT’s financial matters and knew the company was engaged in arranging some kind of arms transaction.

However, he stressed, he was positive it was not illegal. If an arms deal were about to be consummated “they (BIT) would have obtained full prior authorization from both the U.S. and the Israeli governments before going through with the deal,” he said.

Giuliani, who is the chief U.S. prosecutor for New York, said last week that there is “no suggestion of involvement by the Israeli government” in the alleged conspiracy. The Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry categorically denied that Israel was involved.

According to Giuliani and U.S. Customs officials, the accused men conspired to sell Iran several hundred F-4 and F-5 jet fighters, 15,000 TOW air-to-air missiles, scores of tanks and helicopters, long-range artillery and C-130 military transport planes in violation of the U.S. arms embargo against Iran. The weapons were to be delivered in Greek ships and were presently stored in Israel and other countries, the U.S. officials said.