Double identity

February 16, 2010 - 8:57 PM by

Not the Melvyn Mildiner that we know...

Was the Mossad behind the murder last month of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel last month?

We may never know, but for Melvyn Adam Mildiner the international espionage high stakes game hit a little too close to home, when the Dubai police released photos and names Monday night of the 11 people with European passports who allegedly took part in the plot to kill Mabhouh.

Mildiner, who made aliya from London nine years ago and lives near Jerusalem, went to bed suffering from what he said is pneumonia. He told The Jerusalem Post that when he awoke this morning, he was stunned to discover that one of the members of the alleged hit squad, went under an alias which was identical to his name.

“I went to bed with pneumonia and woke up a ‘murderer. I have no idea how to clear my name. Interpol has a warrant out for my arrest. I don’t know how I will travel,” Mildiner told The Post.

While the photo that the Dubai police of the hit man Mildiner doesn’t look like the real Mildiner and the date of birth is wrong, Mildiner is up in arms that he may now be a revenge target for Hamas.

Mildiner doesn’t even know who to get angry at – “We don’t know for sure who did this, despite what everyone’s saying. I’m angry with whoever has done it. My identity should be a bit more sacrosanct than that,” he told The Post.

There have been previous cases of Israeli nationals’ identities or passports being used by special agents for missions abroad. I remember urban legends around the time I made aliyah of American or Canadian new immigrants being approached by people and being invited for interviews for ‘special government projects.’

It turned out that it was the Mossad asking if they could ‘borrow’ their IDs for service for the country. I have no idea if these stories were true, but if so, in the case of Mildiner, it seems like they’ve stopped asking permission.

Tags: , , , , • Category: A New Reality, Crime, General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Politics, Travel, War 

Comments

5 Comments on Double identity

  1. Maya on Wed, Feb 17th 2010 6:48 PM

    2. Yikes… that’s such a nightmare. I’d be much more scared of Hamas than Interpol, though getting detained while traveling would be terrible too. How common can that name be?

    At least Cat Stevens didn’t have to worry about muslim terrorists attacking him…

  2. Rachel on Thu, Feb 18th 2010 5:32 PM

    3. I can only agree with this statement from Times Online (and it takes a lot for me to agree with the UK media): “Every dual national in Israel – and there are many – must be wondering if the same could happen to them. Admiration for Mossad’s trademark chutzpah has been badly blunted: the agency has the implicit mandate to act outside of the law only because it is seen as Israel’s great protector. It is not meant to impersonate, and thus endanger, its own citizens to carry out an extrajudicial killing.”
    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7032246.ece

  3. Nicky on Thu, Feb 18th 2010 7:23 PM

    4. Must admit that as a dual citizen with a British passport I feel like taking this up with the government. Except that of course the government is denying it, so we can’t take it up with them.

  4. Frayda on Thu, Feb 25th 2010 8:42 PM

    5. Scary!

  5. norma joan on Fri, Feb 26th 2010 11:51 AM

    6. re this article, did anyone notice the clothing on the supposed Israeli hit squad? it wasn’t exactly the latest fashion, more like the out of date stuff you get in a foreign country, an Arab country perhaps!

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