According to a Dir Spiegel report, shortly after an Israeli national [reported by the foreign media as being an alleged Mossad Intelligence Agency agent] was arrested in Poland, Israeli diplomatic officials began efforts to prevent his extradition to Germany.
According to the report, Uri Brodsky was placed under arrest on suspicion of aiding the Mossad in the Dubai assassination of senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in addition to using illegal means to obtain a forged German passport which was eventually handed over to one of the team members who traveled to Dubai for the hit.
The suspect, Brodsky, arrived in Warsaw Airport last weekend, traveling under a Polish passport, and officials arrested him on an outstanding German warrant on June 4th, announcing his arrest was in connection to the Dubai operation. While to date, Israel has never accepted responsibility for the Dubai operation, in which a master terrorist was eliminated in his hotel room, the international community has accepted the reports of Dubai investigators, blaming Israel.
Israel Foreign Ministry officials confirm the arrest, releasing a benign statement that it is being handled according to protocol for such matters. Unofficial reports state Israel is seeking to have Brodsky extradited home to stand trial in Israel.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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2 Responses
as this is a charedi site, instead of simply COPYING articles from the general media, it would be appropriate to provide the charedi background to this story.
The man whose name was utilized is refereed to by the general media as “an Israeli with the name of Michael Bodenheimer”. We should refer to him as HaRav HaGaon Reb Michoel Bodenheimer shlit”a, a tzadik and noted talmid chacham from Bnei Brak who serves as a Rosh Kollel in Kiryat Sefer.
Rav Bodenheimer is a brother of Rav Gavriel Bodenheimer Rosh Yeshivas Beis Mikra in Mosey, and brother in law of Rav Sheftel Neuberger, Menahel of Yeshivas Ner Yisrael in Baltimore. He is a grandson-in-law of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l.
Rav Bodenheimer’s responses in the face of international media scrutiny have been one continual kiddish shem shomayim. In contrast with the secular persons who have been involved in this story, when questioned “Are you scared?”, he has constantly answered, “I am not afraid of anyone other than HKBH.”
He has not interrupted his learning for a moment. As one Israeli headline stated, “As Journalists Surround his House, the ‘Assassin’ Just Sits and Learns Torah.”
Hakablan, let’s make this a little clearer. Rav Michoel is NOT Uri Brodsky. Rav Michoel is not under arrest and is not facing extradition. The passport, allegedly obtained by Uri Brodsky to conceal the identity of the Dubai agent, is in the name of Michael Bodenheimer, and was obtained from Germany under the pretesnse that the real Michael Bodenheimer (Rav Michoel) wanted and was entitled to it due to his pre-war German-Jewish lineage. Uri Brodsy’s arrest warrant is for fraudulently obtaining a passport in Rav Michoel’s name.