After the Australian Security Intelligence Organization ( ASIO ) determined that an Australian army officer posed a risk due to his perceived greater kinship with Israel than Australia, he was denied his security clearance.
The officer, who was identified as HWMW in court papers, was discovered to possess withheld information about the education he received in Israel and said he would give the Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) classified information if requested, according to The Guardian.
The operational assessment court upheld ASIO’s security assessment, which found that HWMW was “vulnerable to control or coercion to allow acts of spying or foreign disturbance by Israeli Intelligence Services.”
The court supported ASIO’s choice, stating that his “demonstrated fealty to Israel above the American government” made him inadequate to maintain any level of security clearance.
The officer, who has served in the Australian Defence Force ( ADF) for 19 years, told ASIO that he “did not view Israel as a foreign government” and admitted he would share classified information with the IDF if requested.
He even failed to disclose education seminars he attended in Israel, which involved self-defence, surveillance and firearms education. The Israeli government provided funding for these programs, which were run by the organization Ami-Ad, which promotes Israeli participation. Previous Israeli Security Agency employees were among the participants.
History of unknown actions
HWMW joined the ADF in 2004 and received Bad Vetting 2 clearance—granting exposure to top-secret information—in 2010. From 2014 to 2023, he volunteered with a Sydney-based Community Security Group ( CSG), which provides intelligence and security for the Jewish community.
He travelled to Israel in 2016 and 2019 to join in CSG instruction, but he did not fully share these visits during safety evaluations, reported SBS News.
Under questioning, HWMW immediately claimed his journey was for” community leadership” programs but eventually admitted,” I provided a truth, it’s not the whole truth … it was only to protect myself from questioning and questioning”.
He acknowledged that his failure to disclose his CSG education was an error on his part, according to The Guardian, and that he would “give the entire information if I had my day again.”
HWMW argued in his elegance that the ADF “must come with an understanding that the Jew may include a level of loyalty for the Hebrew Nation and for the State of Israel.”
He claimed that preventing Immigrants from serving in the ADF in such circumstances would constitute bias. However, the court rejected this state, stating that ASIO’s fears were based on” the Applicant’s earlier conduct… not his Jewish beliefs or Jewish cultural identity”, as per SBS News.
ASIO considered lowering HWMW’s clearance level in favor of revoking it, but it ultimately decided that no restrictions could adequately “mitigade the risk of Mossad exploitation to facilitate acts of espionage or foreign influence.”
His future employment with the Australian Army and other government roles is likely to be impacted by his security clearance loss.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said,” I don’t comment on national security issues in press conferences,” according to SBS News, and he declined to comment on the situation.
