Rumors
surrounding Rabbi Shlomo Aviner's ties to the Mossad have been circulating for
years, and on Thursday he admitted for the first time that he was sent by the
Israeli intelligence agency to Iran, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
In
an interview with religious website "Kippah," the Rabbi from Beit El
recounted the recruitment process: "Following the (Islamic) revolution of
1979, I received a phone call. 'Shlomo, we need you.'" The following day
Aviner was sent to Iran with a French passport.
The Rabbi
said he was asked to relay a list from Israel to Iran, but he refused to offer
any other details. The cover story was that Aviner was visiting Iran as a
representative of the French Rabbinate to provide Iranian Jews with matzos for Passover.
"I
was terrified and prayed that I wouldn't be checked too much at the passport
desk, but they let me pass without asking too many questions," Aviner told
the website.
Asked
how he managed to relay messages from Iran to Israel, the Rabbi said, "My
aunt ran an international chandelier business in France and she exported (chandeliers)
to many countries, including Iran. I used public phones to place calls,
pretending to be a client, and used code words to relay the information to
her."
Aviner
returned to Israel and was recruited for another mission after Passover. The Rabbi
said he cut short the second mission after noticing he was being followed.
