Australian Defense Force removes officer's security clearance over undisclosed ties to Israel

KARACHI, Pakistan

The Australian Defense Force (ADF) has removed the security clearance of a serving Jewish officer who has been labeled a risk to security due to undisclosed ties to Israel.

The officer, anonymized as HWMW, made trips to Israel and attended firearms and tactical training funded by the Israeli government, local broadcaster SBS News reported.

A tribunal removed the officer’s security clearance due to fears he is susceptible to "foreign interference and exploitation."

The officer has appealed the decision.

In the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (ASIO) “assessment, there are real concerns about the Applicant’s loyalty to Australia, his susceptibility to foreign influence and his compliance with security holder obligations which pose a risk to security," the tribunal report said.

ASIO said that the officer, who is Jewish but not an Israeli citizen, failed to disclose to Australian officials training courses he had completed in Israel, including self-defense, security, and firearms training.

The officer, who has served in the Australian military for 19 years, "stated he doesn’t view Israel as a foreign government" and said "on two occasions that he would provide classified or sensitive information to Israel if they asked for it," the tribunal report said.

The tribunal also found that HWMW failed to disclose the nature of his travels to Israel and said his access to defense information was a "risk to security" for Australia.

"By virtue of HWMW’s demonstrated poor judgement, poor security practices, failure to comply with the obligations of a security clearance holder, his vulnerability to influence or coercion by the Israeli Intelligence Services, and HWMW’s demonstrated loyalty to Israel above the Australian government, ASIO assesses if HWMW were to continue to hold any level of security clearance, he would pose an unacceptable and avoidable risk to security."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declined Monday to answer questions on the tribunal's findings.

"I don't comment on national security issues. I don't comment on national security issues in press conferences," he said.