Israel bites back at UN watchdog over alleged strike on Syria reactor
By Yossi Melman
December 18, 2008
Haaretz
Original Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1047640.html

Israel is assisting the International Atomic Energy Agency in its efforts to determine what Syria planned to manufacture in the nuclear reactor it was building that was destroyed in an Israeli Air Force strike in September 2007. 

An Israeli source said that although the state neither confirmed nor denied that it carried out the attack on the reactor, We are finding our own ways to relay the information that needs to be relayed. 

Israel apparently laundered the intelligence at its disposal about the Syrian reactor via the United States. In April the Central Intelligence Agency released a multimedia presentation featuring satellite images as well as photographs taken inside the reactor The agency declared that the bombed site was a nuclear reactor in the final stages of construction. 

This is the background to the serious accusations traded between the Israel Atomic Energy Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Recently Israel's representative to the IAEA, Israel Michaeli, sent a sharply worded letter of protest to Director General Mohammed ElBaradei. 

The crisis began in May, when the IAEA began claiming that Israel was not providing satellite images of the reactor that was hit, hurting the investigation. The agency's spokeswoman, Melissa Fleming, later sent a letter to The Wall Street Journal reiterating claims made by ElBaradei.

On a number of occasions the agency head argued that by bombing the reactor instead of first reporting its suspicions to the IAEA Israel harmed the organization's ability to thoroughly investigate what was in the reactor. 

The letter to the Wall Street Journal stated that information was withheld from the IAEA for more than six months - the satellite images and perhaps also important intelligence information - by which time Syria had cleaned away the rubble and built a new facility. On the same occasion Fleming strayed from the ostensible topic, the Syrian reactor, to charge that Israel, together with Iraq, Iran and North Korea, was in violation of [IAEA] rules and [to have] restricted [its] IAEA technical cooperation projects. This was a reference to Israel's refusal to permit the agency's inspectors to visit the Dimona nuclear reactor. 

Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, which is one of the most secretive and silent organizations in the country, generally prefers to stay out of the headlines. But this time it decided not to hold back. It is still unclear whether this was a one-time response to a specific situation or a change in approach related to the change in leadership. A year ago Dr. Shaul Horev replaced Gideon Frank as the commission's director general after 12 years. 

In any event, a decision was made early this month, with the approval of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to launch a frontal assault against the IAEA. In addition to the letter of protest to the agency, commission spokeswoman Nili Lifshitz sent her own letter to the Wall Street Journal. 

The claim that Israel is withholding critical information on the site is nothing but a smoke screen, Lifshitz wrote, adding, Nothing should stand in the way of the agency's search for evidence regarding the purpose of the destroyed Syrian installation. Lifshitz argued that the IAEA should obtain commercial satellite images to back up its findings if it needs them. She noted a recent IAEA report on Syria that stated that the agency is examining uranium particles found at the Syrian site where some features are similar to what may be found in connection with a reactor site, and has asked Syria to allow visits to locations containing the debris and any equipment removed from the site for the purpose of taking samples. 

Each time the agency comes under political criticism for handling of a Middle Eastern country's flagrant breaches of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or its safeguards agreement, the agency immediately resorts to publicly invoking Israel's name, Lifshitz wrote. According to the Israeli source: We are fed up with the IAEA's attacks on us. This time they went too far. 

Non-scientist gets a top spot 

For the first time in the history of the Israel Institute for Biological Research in Nes Tziona, the position of deputy director has been filled by a candidate with no background in science through what employees have called a fixed tender. 

The institute recently issued an internal tender for the position of deputy and acting director. The head of human resources, Natan Rosenbaum, was the sole applicant for the position and was awarded the tender. 

Rosenbaum retired from the Israel Defense Forces 12 years ago at the rank of colonel after serving as head of the draft administration, among other positions. Rosenbaum, who is considered to be close to the institute's director, Dr. Avigdor Shafferman, was brought in to head the institution's department of human resources. 

The institute conducts medical, environmental and military research and development for Israel's military establishment and for foreign clients, including the U.S. Army. Most of the institute's work is classified but according to foreign publications it develops chemical and biological weapons and means for defending against such weapons. It is under the administrative purview of the Prime Minister's Office, but in effect it answers to the Defense Ministry. Most of its 300 employees have a background in the natural sciences. 

The institute's deputy director, Dr. Amram Golumbeck, recently announced his intention to take a three-year sabbatical after which he would be leaving his post. Shafferman decided to appoint Rosenbaum to replace him, despite his lack of background or experience in the sciences. 

The internal tenders committee convened to draft the conditions for the tender decided that that one of them would be eight years' experience in human resources administration. Many institute employees, including some who spoke with Haaretz, said they thought it was tailored specifically for Rosenbaum, but none of them dared oppose Shafferman, who is said to rule the institute with an iron hand. 

The Defense Ministry said in a response that any questions should be directed to Shafferman. The ministry said it does not have the authority to force the institute's director to respond to questions on administrative matters, although in the past the Defense Ministry has responded to queries in the institute's stead.